


Captive

by Dazzlious



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:45:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 62,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9139564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzlious/pseuds/Dazzlious
Summary: When Hermione is captured by Death Eaters Lucius Malfoy agrees to help her escape — but at a price. Can she trust him to do as he says or will his true nature betray her?





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from JK Rowling’s fantastic books or films, I’m just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so. 
> 
> A/N: So I’m not entirely sure where this came from. It was sort of floating around in my brain for a while and then suddenly refused to be ignored any longer. The story begins just after the end of the sixth book. Enjoy. Dx

 

** PART ONE – THE WAR **

 

Hermione swore softly under her breath and looked hurriedly around her, attempting to find an accessible exit. She was trapped. There was nowhere she could go without being seen, and being seen was definitely not something that she wanted to happen right now. She could feel herself starting to shake, fear turning into pure terror, and had to try hard not to let it overwhelm her. If she gave in to her fear now it could be the last thing she ever did.

Without an escape route she looked for the next best thing: somewhere to hide. She had no illusions that it would be a long-term hiding place, but if she could at least stay free until the Death Eaters moved further into the building she might then have a chance at getting to one of the exits without being caught.

She swore again as she was pushed roughly by two panicking witches as they, unlike Hermione, headed straight towards the nearest exit, not caring who they hurt in the process.

‘Not that way,’ Hermione murmured softly, more to herself than to anyone else. ‘You’ll get caught.’

A moment later she gave a small gasp as the first of the women was struck by a red beam of light in the centre of her back and collapsed just feet away from the door. The second woman gave a long, loud wail as the first witch fell, which turned to screams of terror as she was grabbed and dragged towards the centre of the room by a black-robed, masked figure.

The room was in pandemonium. Witches and wizards were running all over the place, trying to dodge the Death Eaters, some of whom seemed to make a sport out of grabbing at their prey, others merely using their wands to blast the runners. Here and there a few braver souls were trying to fight back, but they weren’t winning against the viciousness of the masked figures, more of whom were now entering the room.

Hermione spotted a gap between the bookshelves and hurriedly gauged whether this was a possible haven or certain death. She couldn’t decide, but with the Death Eaters drawing ever closer she didn’t have time to worry about it too hard. Forcing herself to keep calm and not draw attention by hurrying, she made her way into the stacks and discovered that it actually wasn’t a bad place to be.

Although there was the possibility she could end up trapped if she wasn’t careful, she was at least out of the general melee, which gave her a little time to try to plan an escape. By judiciously moving a few books she could also keep an eye on what was happening out there without having to leave the safety of the bookshelves. She pulled her wand from her bag and looked around her to make sure no one was coming anywhere near the narrow gap, but it seemed to have been overlooked by everyone in the panic.

As the occupants of the building were gradually overwhelmed the noise died down a little and Hermione could see that the Death Eaters were moving people to the centre of the room. Some had been allowed to leave — Pure-bloods and maybe even Half-bloods, she supposed — but the majority were being herded into a group, and none too gently either. After all, it was probable that many of the people here tonight were Muggle-borns, drawn as she had been to a conference on the different jobs available within the wizarding world; valuable information for someone not born into and brought up in the wizarding way of life.

Hermione gave a small, bitter snort of annoyance. How typical of the organisers not to bother ensuring that there was sufficient security against a possible attack, although to be fair to them the Death Eaters hadn’t yet really started their campaign of terror; Voldemort preferred to insinuate himself into the Ministry of Magic and the control of the country before he revealed himself to the population at large.

The only reason Hermione was even aware that the return of Voldemort was real was because of her close friendship with Harry Potter and their ties to the Order of the Phoenix, the group dedicated to stopping the return of Voldemort and his followers. At least she knew what was going on. Most of the poor people here wouldn’t have a clue, as even now the Ministry weren’t trumpeting the fact of his return; if anything, they were trying to give the impression that they had him and his followers under control, and many of them probably wouldn’t connect this attack with Death Eaters as they wouldn’t know what they were.

The room was much calmer now. Most of the conference attendees had been rounded up and were huddled together inside a circle of Death Eaters and the majority of the noise was now made up of sobbing and pleading. Some of the Death Eaters had removed their masks. That wasn’t a good sign. If they weren’t bothered about being recognised it was obviously because they didn’t intend to leave any witnesses.

Hermione’s heart beat faster for a moment at that thought and she could feel a wave of panic threatening to overwhelm her. She clenched her fist, forcing her nails into the soft skin in her palm in an effort to distract her brain from going down that route. She was safe for the moment, safer than the people out there, and as long as she didn’t do anything stupid she would be okay for a while longer. It was imperative that she made no noise. If she was caught and dragged out now she could end up being singled out for the Death Eaters’ attention.

Certain now that she wasn’t going to lose it, she slowly unclenched her fist, stretching the hand to try to get rid of some of the pain. A moment later she froze and put her hand over her mouth to cover the sound of her breathing as a Death Eater walked directly in front of the stack she was hiding behind.

Although he was one of the few still wearing his mask, Hermione knew that the Death Eater was Lucius Malfoy. If the long blond hair hadn’t given him away she would still have recognised him by his walk and the arrogant way in which he carried himself. She had met the father of Draco Malfoy, her nemesis from school, a few times over the years and none of them had been a pleasant experience for her.

The Malfoys’ hatred for Muggles and Muggle-borns was legendary and Lucius had made no secret of his disdain and loathing of her, even when he had been with the previous Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. This had not been helped by Hermione’s academic prowess; she had beaten Draco in every subject at school every year they had been there, which infuriated both father and son.

She heard a noise to her left and turned slowly, hoping that Lucius had moved far enough along the row not to notice her movement. Not that she had any choice. She had to check in case it was another Death Eater moving in on her. It wasn’t. It was a frightened-looking wizard dressed in maroon robes, which for a moment reminded her ridiculously of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Hermione motioned to him quickly to stop him from coming any closer to her, indicating the presence of a Death Eater, and was relieved when the man turned away and into a different row. The relief didn’t last long, though. She could hear the sounds of people who, like her, had hidden in the stacks being rounded up and the Death Eaters obviously weren’t too bothered if people were hurt while they were doing it. She turned her attention briefly back to the room, trying to work out if there was any way she could get out of there without being seen, but it was looking less and less likely.

Things were happening in the centre of the room now, too. For some of the Death Eaters, this seemed to be a chance to torture and maim as two now-unmasked Death Eaters took it in turns to cast what appeared to be the Cruciatus Curse on a small wizard who had been pushed out of the panicking crowd. For others, there seemed to be a more sexual element. Another Death Eater, still in his mask, was attempting to pull the clothes from an attractive and clearly petrified young witch who was crying out in fear. All over the room similar scenes were beginning to unfold and having spotted guards on all the possible exits, Hermione could feel her positivity draining away.

She crept back along the row, not able to stand still in case the searching Death Eaters found her, but had to stop short when she realised she had once again come upon Lucius Malfoy. He wasn’t joining in choosing instead, to stand and watch. His mask, too, had now been removed and Hermione wasn’t quite sure what the look on his face meant. It certainly wasn’t enjoyment at observing what was going on around him and for a moment Hermione wondered whether he disapproved of the way the other Death Eaters were acting. He may not have been a Muggle-lover but surely he was no murderer or even a torturer, was he?

With the sound of others coming closer Hermione knew she had no choice. If she stayed where she was she was going to get caught. But she couldn’t get across the room without being caught either. As much as she hated the idea, the only thing she could do was give herself up to Lucius and pray that he was the man she hoped he was and that he would help her rather than see her tortured or killed.

She crept a little closer to where Lucius was standing, still trying to keep quiet as she didn’t want him to make a fuss and draw others’ attention to the fact that she was there. When she was what she hoped was close enough, she began trying to subtly attract his attention.

‘Mr Malfoy,’ Hermione whispered.

She saw him stiffen and turn slightly, a frown on his face. She tried again, just a little louder, and this time she knew he had definitely heard her. He turned more so he was now facing her and nonchalantly pulled a book from the shelf, opening and skimming through it, seeming interested in its contents. Hermione pulled out the corresponding book on her side so her face was revealed to him.

‘Can you help me, please?’ Hermione asked, her words coming out in a rush now that she was finally speaking. ‘Please help me get out of here.’

She was a little embarrassed at how pathetic and scared she sounded, but there was nothing she could do about that because she was absolutely bloody terrified.

Lucius looked blankly at Hermione for a moment and she suddenly remembered that the last time she had seen him had been at the Ministry of Magic when he had been caught and sent to Azkaban. She hoped he didn’t remember that. A few seconds later the blank look was replaced with a smug look of superiority. He gave Hermione a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes and made her shiver.

‘Miss Granger,’ he acknowledged quietly. He continued to stare at her, his pale grey eyes almost piercing right through her.

‘Please help me,’ Hermione repeated, then stopped and looked to her left. She could hear voices coming her way. She surely only had a few seconds before she was caught. ‘Please,’ she begged more desperately. ‘You’re my only hope. Surely you don’t want to see me tortured and killed, do you? I know you don’t like me because I’m Muggle-born but you’re not a monster, I know you’re not. So please . . . help me.’

Lucius continued to study her, saying nothing, and for a moment she wished she could wipe the smug look off his face, but she knew it wouldn’t help. There was another noise from close by and Hermione felt her heart beating like a drum. For a third time, the terror rose. If he didn’t help her right now she was going to be caught and dragged out into the room, the centre of attention for all the Death Eaters present.

‘Please,’ she begged, her voice ragged as the tears welled in her eyes. ‘I’ll do anything, Mr Malfoy, but please, please help me.’ She could feel the tears running down her cheeks now and had to try hard to stop the sob that was building in her chest from erupting and giving away her location to everyone else. ‘Oh god, please don’t let me die,’ she whimpered in one last attempt to get Lucius to help her.

The voices were closer now. It was almost over. Lucius Malfoy wasn’t going to save her. She held her breath, trying to calm herself as she waited to be caught, determined that she wasn’t going to break down when it happened; she would go down fighting. But then Lucius spoke, his face unreadable now that the smirk was gone.

‘Yes.’

Hermione’s gratitude and relief almost gave her away as she exhaled too loudly, a cry of joy almost leaving her lips before she managed to cut the sound off.

‘Come here, now,’ Lucius said abruptly, and putting his book back on the shelf he began to move towards the gap that Hermione was already heading for.

Just in time, Hermione squeezed through the narrow aperture and into Lucius’ waiting arms. He took her wand from her as the searching Death Eaters turned into her row, crying out when they saw the back of her robes. Lucius leant around the shelf, brandishing both wands to show that Hermione had been caught.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve got her,’ he told the searcher, who grinned, gave a thumbs-up sign, and turned back to search another row.

Hermione was quaking as she stood with Lucius. She had no idea how he was going to get her out of this hellhole, but at least they weren’t being watched. All the other Death Eaters seemed to be otherwise engaged, and from the noises she could hear Hermione didn’t want to know what they were doing.

She gasped when Lucius wrapped his arm around her throat and pulled her back against him, pointing his wand at her head. That awful smile was back on his face, but this time it did reach his eyes and she realised he was enjoying this. Perhaps she had made a mistake in trusting him after all.

‘Anything,’ Lucius said, his voice making the word sound meaty. ‘You’ll do anything, you said?’

Hermione, not sure she could speak, gave a brief nod, trying not to get any closer to his wand.

‘Good,’ Lucius continued, sounding satisfied. He relaxed his grip on her a little; his other arm had snaked around her waist, trapping her completely with the one still draped around her neck. ‘To start with you can get on your knees and use that pretty little mouth of yours on my cock.’

‘What . . . but . . . _what_?’ Hermione couldn’t help voicing the question. She sounded disgusted.

Lucius gave a small chuckle that chilled her more effectively than any of the other noises she had heard that evening.

‘Well, you did say that you would do anything, Miss Granger.’

‘Yes, but—’

‘Do you no longer wish to be rescued?’ Lucius asked, cutting off Hermione’s protestation. ‘I can always pass you to the others for their enjoyment instead,’ he said dismissively, moving as if to push her further into the room towards the other Death Eaters.

‘No, please.’ Hermione sounded genuinely scared. ‘Surely you’re not that cruel. You couldn’t just stand by and see me attacked by them, could you?’

Lucius shrugged. ‘I’ve seen many things in my lifetime,’ he said honestly. ‘Anyway, why would I stay around to watch? That’s not my style at all. So it’s your choice, Miss Granger. Just think of it as protection payment.’

‘But I’m Muggle-born,’ Hermione reminded him. ‘Surely you wouldn’t be interested—’

Once again Lucius cut her off.

‘Well, it’s not ideal, I’ll admit,’ he said candidly, ‘but needs must and all that. And you are a delicious young thing, even considering your unfortunate blood status—’

He looked at Hermione critically for a moment.

‘—or perhaps you don’t believe that you’re worth saving,’ he finished.

‘I just didn’t expect to have to repay you in that way,’ Hermione said unhappily.

‘What did you think ‘anything’ would be? That you’d give me some Galleons? Or that I’d get you tutoring Draco or something?’ Lucius asked sarcastically. He gestured around the room, releasing his grip on Hermione’s throat even more so she could look around, too. ‘What do you think you’ll get if I give you to them?’ He let that sink in for a moment, then, ‘But of course it’s your choice, Miss Granger. I can help you escape from this, but oral sex is my fee.’

Hermione, who had just winced at something she had seen one of the other Death Eaters doing to an almost comatose witch, swallowed heavily then said despondently, ‘Please, just get me out of here.’

Lucius gave her that smug grin again. ‘An excellent decision on your part,’ he replied honestly.

He released his grip on her completely, watching her steadily as Hermione rubbed her throat, looking miserable.

‘Cheer up. It could be so much worse,’ he said patronisingly as he began to unbutton his trousers. ‘Now get down on your knees, there’s a good girl.’

Hermione looked and sounded horrified. ‘You expect me to do it here, where everyone can see us? I thought—’

Lucius’ laugh was harsh, stopping her from finishing. ‘You thought I’d free you first and then you could talk your way out of it? Bad luck, Mudblood. Payment first or you can join the others.’

‘I don’t know what to do,’ Hermione confessed. She could feel herself blushing with embarrassment at this admission but had no idea why. Surely it was a good thing that this wasn’t something she was experienced at, wasn’t it?

Lucius surveyed her for a few seconds, realising she was serious. He wasn’t sure whether her innocence excited or disappointed him. He had been anticipating a decent blowjob but he was no longer likely to get one, not if the girl really was a novice. On the other hand, that gave him all sorts of opportunities to guide her into pleasuring him in the way that would give him the greatest satisfaction.

‘First, get down on your knees and release my cock,’ he told her.

Still looking unhappy, Hermione did as he commanded, trying to block out the rest of the room and hoping everyone was too busy with their own business to watch what she and Lucius were doing. She had to pull his trousers down a little so she could access the bulge still trapped in his underpants, and she gasped as she pulled them down too, revealing the long, hard member that sprang free, already clearly ready for attention.

‘You can touch it,’ Lucius told her as he watched her staring, almost mesmerised, at his cock. ‘Wrap your hand around it and give it a good wank first.’

Hermione tentatively reached out to touch it, seeming surprised at the texture of it. She slowly wrapped her hand around it. Lucius gave a small hiss at the soft touch and wrapped his own much larger hand around hers, showing her how hard to grip and then how to move it; teaching her the rhythm that best suited him. Hermione obediently followed his lead and Lucius closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying what was happening. It felt good, but not as good as her mouth would. 

‘Put it in your mouth and suck it.’ Lucius’ voice had become husky. ‘If you want to lick it to tease me a bit you can do that, too, but mainly you need to suck it. Sucking the head feels completely different to taking it as deep as you can. You need to mix it up and keep sucking to make me cum.’

Hermione didn’t look very happy at his command, but knowing she had no other choice she slid her mouth over the end, taking only the head and sucking experimentally. Lucius groaned so she carried on sucking. After a couple of minutes she released his cock to lick it instead, her tongue swirling around the shaft from the tip down to the base then back up again, her movements becoming less hesitant as she gained confidence in what she was doing.

From the noises Lucius was making he was obviously enjoying it. A loud gasp escaped his lips as her mouth enveloped him once more, taking him deeper this time. Hermione glanced up at him and Lucius gave a low growl; their eyes met for a moment before she returned to concentrating on what she was doing.

Lucius’ heart was pounding. Although clearly unskilled, Hermione’s mouth felt wonderful, and when she had gazed up at him a wave of pure lust filled his entire body. His hands moved, threading themselves through her hair as she continued to suck him, the teasing now finished, for the time being, at least.

He had the urge to force her head down, to make her swallow all of him, but instinctively knew this wasn’t the way to get Hermione to finish him off. Instead, he quietly praised her, making it to her that clear he was enjoying what she was doing, the feeling inside him rising ever higher as Hermione’s confidence in the act she was performing grew.

Her hands were on his trousers again, pulling them lower still; the underpants soon followed as her small, soft hands sought out his balls, a command from Lucius when the sucking was becoming almost too much for him to bear. As she squeezed and fondled, her mouth still sucking, now back to the oh-so-sensitive head, Lucius knew he couldn’t last much longer.

‘Oh gods, yes,’ he breathed, sounding almost in pain. Then with a long, low moan he erupted, filling Hermione’s mouth with a steady stream of hot, slightly bitter liquid.

Hermione, taken by surprise and not sure what to do, kept sucking. Lucius hissed and his hands released her hair and gently pushed her away. She sat back and stared at him, knowing she had no choice but to swallow although she would have preferred not to.

Lucius gazed back, a mixture of gratitude and desire running through his veins. Despite Hermione’s lack of experience, he had really enjoyed what she had done to him. So much so that he was now wishing he had demanded more from her than just oral sex.

Now he was looking at her with new eyes he wanted so much more, both giving and receiving, but he had made his bargain and now he had to stick with it and help Hermione escape. It was a shame, but it wasn’t all bad. There might be a way for him to exploit what had just occurred at a later date, and then who knew what might happen between them?     

Reluctantly, Lucius redressed himself as Hermione stood up and looked around. The situation was getting out of hand; he needed to get her out as soon as possible, otherwise his comrades might decide she needed to join the other captives. She was trying not to look around too obviously, an anxious expression on her face.

‘I told you I would help you and I will,’ Lucius assured her. Then, before Hermione had a chance to say anything further, he hit her with a Stunning spell.

Lucius grabbed Hermione before she hit the floor and hoisted her over his shoulder, striding confidently across the room, ignoring the orgy of pain going on around him.

‘Where do you think you’re going, Lucius?’

Lucius stopped as a hand reached out to grab his arm. He turned to see Antonin Dolohov staring at him grimly.

‘We’ve been here too long. This was supposed to be a quick job. Get in, grab the Mudbloods, and take them back to the Dark Lord’s holding area — kill anyone who tried to resist — not have a bloody great orgy. We need to leave in case the alarm has been raised. The Dark Lord won’t be at all pleased if we all end up getting captured or killed because we were having too much fun torturing and playing with the captives, will he?’ Lucius said.

‘True,’ Antonin acknowledged coolly. ‘Although you were having just as much fun as the rest of us from what I could see.’

‘Yes, I was. But I also know not to overdo it. Some of these people are out of control. We need to round up the captives and get them away, then the place can be torched to dispose of the bodies. Tell everyone we need to be out in five minutes at most.’

‘You’re only taking the one?’ Antonin indicated Hermione, who was still hanging over Lucius’ shoulder.

‘Old school enemy of Draco’s. I want to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t disappear,’ Lucius told him insouciantly.

‘Nice present for him,’ Antonin said with a grin. He pulled Hermione’s head up so he could see her face, then let it drop again. ‘Pretty girl. I’m sure you’ll both have lots of fun with her. Sometimes it’s a shame to have to get rid of them, isn’t it?’

Lucius shrugged as if he wasn’t really bothered.

‘No more talking. We need to get out of here. Time’s running out.’ 

‘You’re right,’ Antonin agreed. ‘You go, tell anyone you see on your way out. I’ll round up the others.’

Lucius knew it would be too dangerous to try to leave without alerting the others; Antonin would be sure to mention it to the Dark Lord if he did. Hermione’s rescue would have to wait. First, he needed to get the other Death Eaters out and evidence of their attack posted in the sky for all to see in the form of the Dark Mark.

He headed for the door, warning those he met on his way, realising that there wouldn’t be many captives left from tonight’s raid. Although the Dark Lord generally preferred to kill Mudbloods, he had recently been collecting them, something to taunt the Order of the Phoenix with, forcing them to reveal themselves in attempting a rescue or live with the fact that their inaction had caused the deaths of inestimable numbers of people.

It had been a great plan and had enabled the Dark Lord’s forces to rid themselves of several members of that nauseating band of do-gooders, until this raid. Now Lucius was stuck with a Mudblood he had promised to help, had already taken payment from and if truth be told, he had no desire to kill or see be killed, but now he had no way of getting her to safety without his loyalty being questioned. He had no choice but to take Hermione with the others and hope that there would be a chance to slip away later.  

Lucius exited the building and knowing there was nothing he could do he watched for only a moment as Rabastan Lestrange raised the Dark Mark over the now burning edifice. Then he Apparated away, taking with him the still unconscious Hermione and two other captives that had been foisted upon him, stopping any chance of a clean escape for the girl over his shoulder.  


	2. Two

Hermione stared around her in despair. She had no idea where she was, but she wasn’t free and she definitely wasn’t somewhere safe. Whatever that viper, Lucius Malfoy, had promised her and insisted she pay for in advance — wherever he had brought her — he hadn’t delivered on his promise.

The place in which she was being held was bare of any decoration or furniture, with slimy fungus and spongy moss growing on the solid rock walls as rivulets of water ran down its face. Hermione had a feeling it was underground as the whole room felt cold and damp. At least she was free to move around, not chained up, although with no way to escape; with the room being so small it wasn’t really much of a bonus.

She had finally stopped feeling nauseated after coming round from the Stunning spell Lucius had cast on her and found herself lying on the cold earthen floor in this small, dingy cell that had no route of escape and no light. Lucius had tricked and imprisoned her and all he had given her was a splitting headache and the urge to throw up.

Wherever she was, she wasn’t alone. Whilst the room she was in was tiny, there were other people close by. This she knew because she could hear them talking, crying, or wailing piteously. She got the impression that the others were cloistered together, not locked away in individual cells like her.

Hermione couldn’t work out whether her isolation was a good or bad thing until she saw Lucius again — if she saw him. She really hoped that he hadn’t deserted her down here forever. Surely there had to be a reason he had brought her here and placed her on her own rather than taken her to safety?

The other thing Hermione couldn’t work out was why she and the others, who she assumed were all Muggle-born like her, had been brought to this dank, dark prison instead of being killed immediately. Voldemort and his followers had never been lenient with her kind previously, so why had they started now?

She couldn’t even begin to fathom a reason, although her mind conjured up disturbing images of a massacre which then led her to wonder whether they were being rounded up in readiness for some grand gesture by the Dark wizard, some sort of mass sacrifice to announce his domination of the wizarding world. This thought terrified her, although in truth she had been petrified since she had woken; being trapped in a small space in the dark had never been one of her favourite pastimes.    

Hermione had no idea how long she had been there or how long she had been unconscious, but she could feel the dull ache of hunger in her stomach and she was trying to ignore how thirsty she felt, particularly in light of what she’d had to do just before she had been Stunned, and the dehydration really wasn’t helping her headache. How long could she survive without a drink, was it three days or five? Hermione couldn’t remember with the non-stop pounding in her head.

If Lucius or one of the other Death Eaters didn’t come back soon and provide her with something to drink she was going to have to consume the water running down the walls of her cell. When she had first considered it she had almost vomited because having touched the walls she could imagine what it would be like; her fingers had sprung away in revulsion at the feel of the fungus and the moss. But her thirst was growing ever more unbearable and soon she would have no choice.

She wasn’t the only one who was thirsty or hungry; others were calling out too, begging for food and drink, but Hermione didn’t expect the Death Eaters to answer them. Perhaps they had brought them here to slowly starve, thinking that abduction without a trace would upset their families even more than just killing them would have done.

Hermione realised she was crying; not loudly, but there were teardrops falling onto her cheeks. She brushed them away, sucking on her fingers to try to reclaim even that small amount of moisture, but the salty taste just made her thirst flare more.

She was trying not to feel despondent but the longer she sat there in the dark knowing there was likely to be no rescue, the more difficult she found it to stay positive. Her wand was gone, taken by Lucius, so even if by some miracle there was any chance of escape she would be helpless.

Hermione’s stomach rumbled again and she lay down on her side, curling herself up a little. She might as well try to sleep. If she could manage it she could forget about the thirst and hunger for a few hours and the headache might ease a little, although with the noise going on outside sleeping wasn’t going to be easy. She put her hands over her ears to try to drown out the sound of the others, wishing she was anywhere but there.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

‘ _Lumos!_ ’

Hermione flinched as light filled the tiny room. Her headache was pounding harder than ever and her throat was sore and parched, her lips dry and starting to crack. She curled herself into a ball to try to get away from the brightness, which was making her feel sick again.

‘I’ve brought you some food and drink.’

Lucius lowered his wand slightly as Hermione slowly uncurled herself, still squinting as she looked at the blond man. He was carrying a bag which he dropped to the floor in front of her.

‘Are you all right?’ he enquired, surveying her critically.

Hermione stared at him balefully for a moment but then closed her eyes, wincing as pain shot through her head again because of the light.

‘Headache,’ she managed to croak.

Lucius stared at her with concern.

‘You need to drink. There’s water in the bag.’

Hermione forced herself to move, pulling the bag towards her. She opened it to reveal a large bottle of water. There were other things in there too, but at the moment she had no interest in anything but drinking.

‘Don’t drink too much or you’ll be sick,’ Lucius warned.

Ignoring him, Hermione gulped the cool liquid down, feeling her throat ease as the water coated it. But a few seconds later it hit her empty stomach, and with a groan of dismay as a sharp stab of pain twisted her gut she turned away, scrambling quickly towards the corner of the room before it came back up. Forlornly she knelt, the tears back in her eyes, feeling humiliated that Lucius was witnessing her in this state.

‘I did warn you,’ Lucius said. He sounded surprisingly sympathetic.

His hand touched her shoulder and Hermione found herself sobbing, all her anger with Lucius and her pain and embarrassment coming out as tears. Gently, Lucius turned her round and studied her. He waved his wand and cast a cleaning charm, removing the vomit from Hermione’s face and clothes, then held out his hand to help her up.

‘You need to eat something, and drink, but _slowly_.’

Hermione stared at his hand for several seconds and then took it. Lucius helped her to stand, then guided her back across the small room to where the bag lay.

‘I brought as much as I could,’ he told her. He was still watching her intently.

Hermione seemed to ignore him as she took another small sip of the water, needing to get rid of the stinging taste of bile in her mouth, then another and a third. Once she was certain she wasn’t going to be sick again she delved into the bag and found a loaf of bread, a large chunk of cheese, some ham and a couple of apples.

‘I know it’s not much but it’s better than the others are getting. They’ve just had a bowl of broth,’ Lucius explained.

Hermione had torn a lump out of the bread and was slowly chewing it, showing no sign that she was listening to him.

‘There’s another bottle of water in there as well which should, hopefully, last until the next time I come, although I’m not sure when that will be,’ Lucius continued.

Hermione had finished the bread and was gazing at the floor, determined not to look at Lucius. She was too angry with him to feel grateful, although the food and drink were extremely welcome.

‘How’s your headache now?’ he asked.

Hermione finally looked at him. ‘Still sore. I’m dehydrated and never quite recovered from you Stunning me,’ she said accusingly.

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ Lucius told her, then he turned and left the room, leaving Hermione in darkness once more.

Instantly she was seized by fear — the room was completely black and she couldn’t see anything — but Hermione forced herself to calm down. There was nothing in here to be frightened of. She was alone and at least she now had food and drink.

Her heart lifted for a moment, glad to be in the light once more when Lucius returned bearing a potion to relieve her headache. But then she remembered that he would leave her again soon and she would have to suffer the darkness for Merlin only knew how long before his next visit. Fury welled up inside her once more as she remembered that her so-called saviour had betrayed her and left her to rot here in some dank dungeon.

She clenched her fists and counted to ten, trying to calm herself before she confronted Lucius. There was no point in getting upset with him; it wouldn’t make him change his mind. But maybe if she talked to him rationally she might be able to make him feel guilty. It probably still wouldn’t change anything but at least she would know why he had done it, and maybe even what was going to happen to her; her and the others.

‘Why didn’t you rescue me like you promised?’ Hermione asked.

She heard the quiver in her voice and blinked to stop the tears that suddenly threatened. Hermione lifted her head and stared at Lucius, wanting him to know that she expected an answer.

‘There wasn’t time to get you out and I got caught trying to leave,’ Lucius told her honestly. ‘If I had continued I would have been reported as a traitor to the Dark Lord. I had no choice but to join the others and bring you here. At least I put you somewhere safe. It was the best I could do.’

‘Why am I in here alone?’

‘Would you prefer to be out there?’ Lucius answered looking surprised. ‘People are losing their minds and all sorts. It’s not very pleasant. Anyway, it means you won’t—’ He broke off, suddenly seeming unwilling to voice his thoughts.

‘I won’t what?’ Hermione asked. ‘Tell me, Mr Malfoy. Why are we all here? Why weren’t we killed?’

Lucius stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed.

‘The Dark Lord is using Mudbloods as bait to draw out the Order of the Phoenix now that Dumbledore isn’t around to protect them any longer. Instead of killing Mudbloods he’s keeping you prisoner, waiting to see if the Order will try to rescue you a small group at a time. If they do, we attack; if they don’t, then we’ll kill you and the bodies will be dumped where the Order will find them and feel guilty because they failed you.’ He gave a low, bitter chuckle. ‘It’s an effective plan — we’ve killed several members since the campaign started because they always try to rescue you, although Merlin only knows why.’  

‘Are you going to help me get out of here?’ Hermione tried to quell the hysteria rising in her as she considered Lucius’ words.

Lucius looked a little uncomfortable as Hermione stared at him but then he recovered.

‘There isn’t anything I can do. It’s too dangerous.’

Hermione could feel the tears again and knew she wasn’t going to be able to stop them. Her voice was full of the anguish she felt as she insisted, ‘But you promised me you would help me escape . . . and I paid you, remember? You made me pay you in advance, so you owe me.’

‘That’s why you’re in here, not out there with the others,’ Lucius told her, his voice colder now. ‘It’s the best I can do, Miss Granger. I’m going now.’

‘Please don’t leave me in the dark,’ Hermione begged. She was crying, fear at being left alone again in this tiny dark room welling up inside her and making her weak.

‘There’s nothing more I can do,’ Lucius insisted.

He left the room, leaving Hermione in darkness and sobbing disconsolately.  

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

‘Time to get up, Princess. Your stay in private accommodation is over. It’s time for you to join the other Mudbloods. No special treatment here.’

Hermione squinted as she tried to see who was talking to her. It wasn’t Lucius, but then she had given up any hope of seeing him again. He had no intention of helping her escape and hadn’t been back since she had tried to make him feel guilty for his betrayal of her.

The small amount of food he had brought her was long gone, even though she had tried to eke it out for as long as she could. Even the water was almost gone. At least if she was with the others she would get something to eat, even if it was only broth. Anyway, she had no energy to fight or even argue. These days even moving was too much of an effort.

The Death Eater pulled Hermione to her feet, clearly not willing to wait for her to rouse herself. He grinned nastily as his hand tightened around her arm to make sure she couldn’t get away.

‘Don’t worry, Princess, it’ll be your turn to leave us in a couple of days. Won’t that be exciting?’

Hermione’s heart felt like lead and seemed to drop into her stomach at his words. She was being moved in preparation for being bait for the Order of the Phoenix. For a second her heart had wings, trying to rise from the mire as she imagined being rescued by her friends, but the joy was short-lived.

Lucius had said the Death Eaters had killed Order members through doing this which meant, she assumed, that the Muggle-borns they had been attempting to rescue had been killed as well. Had anyone she knew died because of this terrible plan of Voldemort’s? The chances were they had. That was an unbearable thought and now her heart was hurting.

The Death Eater dragged her through the door, where a second man was standing guard and propelled her a short way down the corridor, opening the door to a much larger and, being nearer the surface, a slightly lighter room containing far more people than had been at the work conference. The Death Eaters had obviously been busy rounding up their bait.

Hermione felt sudden panic at being forced into the room with all these people. She had got used to the solitude of her small, dark cell and now she couldn’t help but feel worried. She didn’t know any of these people, and from what she had heard from her own cell some of them appeared to have gone insane and others were being argumentative just for the sake of it.

The inhabitants looked in her direction as she was pushed into the room; the door closed with a loud clang behind her. Although she could see only outlines she could feel hostility mixed in with the curiosity; she suspected they knew she had been kept apart from them rather than being a new abductee, and the panic turned to fear for her safety. Lucius was right, she had been better off alone, even if only for the privacy when she needed to use the bucket.

Trying to avoid everyone, especially those giving off a negative vibe, Hermione made her way to an empty space and sat down, her arms wrapped around herself protectively, and waited for the broth to arrive.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Lucius had finally managed to get away from his duties for the Dark Lord and was bringing Hermione some more food. He hoped he hadn’t left it too long this time. The sight of her the last time he had been here had shocked him more than he wanted to admit and he realised she had come close to dying.

He was still trying to work out how he was going to get her out of the cave but nothing obvious was suggesting itself. At least she was safe in that room on her own, whatever might happen to her fellow Mudbloods.

‘Ah, it’s your turn for guard duty, is it?’ Antonin Dolohov asked jovially as he greeted his old friend. ‘Lucky you. Although they’re pretty quiet tonight as they’ve just been fed. Mind you, some of them are a bit restless. They know another group are going tomorrow. Do you want a cup of tea?’

Lucius waved the bag he was carrying. ‘I’m just going to give some food to the Mudblood. I haven’t seen her for a couple of days so she must be starving.’

Antonin looked at him in surprise. ‘Your girl’s been moved in with the others. She’s been fed and is awaiting her turn at freedom.’

Lucius stared back in astonishment, his face darkening with anger.

‘Why was she moved? Who gave the order to move her? I certainly didn’t.’

Antonin shrugged easily. ‘Rodolphus said he couldn’t understand why she was being kept separately — although that’s obviously bollocks. I think he’s just jealous that you’re getting more out of this than him. Plus you’re Bellatrix’s brother-in-law so he probably doesn’t think you should be playing around on Narcissa.’

‘But I haven't—’ Lucius started.

Antonin grinned. ‘I wasn’t the only one who saw what you were doing with that sweet young thing, you know. Rodolphus is a bit of a hypocrite as he was having his own fun at the time, but it seems he doesn’t want you to have any more.’ His face became more serious. ‘I think he was considering using her himself but I stood outside the door so he couldn’t do anything but bring her out. He was a bit rough in his handling of her but nothing serious, and he didn’t stick his cock down her throat, or anywhere else for that matter.’

‘I need to move her back,’ Lucius said.

Antonin’s eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘You’ve really got a thing about this girl. You do know she’s a Mudblood, right?’

‘Of course I know,’ Lucius snapped. ‘I just happen to think she’ll be more use to us alive rather than dead. She’s a friend of _Potter’s_ , that’s how Draco knows her. They’re all in the same year at Hogwarts.’

‘And she’s a pretty girl with a cute mouth and a snatch to match, no doubt,’ Antonin added with a wink. ‘I can hold the fort for half hour or so if you want to go and rescue her. I’m sure she’ll be suitably grateful to you. But be warned that Rodolphus will move her again next time he’s on duty and I’m not going to do anything to stop him. Rabastan might, too. You know he does whatever his brother wants.’

‘I’m grateful to you, Antonin,’ Lucius told his friend.

He hurried down to the cell that Hermione had been moved to, hoping she hadn’t encountered any trouble from the other prisoners. Thank Merlin he had come to see her tonight or who knew what might have happened to her. At least if he got her back into her solitary cell now it would give him a bit of time to work out how to get her out. Perhaps Antonin could be persuaded to help?

Lucius discarded the thought almost immediately. His friend was pretty easy-going and was happy to turn a blind eye to his games but he wouldn’t help him to get Hermione released. For Antonin, the best Mudblood was a dead Mudblood. He definitely wouldn’t understand Lucius’ motives for helping her escape.

His friend had no idea that the blowjob had been payment for something Lucius hadn’t yet managed to achieve, nor would he ever know; there was no way Lucius was revealing that information to anyone, not with the Dark Lord on the warpath. No, he would have to work on this alone.

He focussed as he opened the door to the cell, aware that he needed his wits about him. He was alone and there were at least twenty people in the cell – not good odds if they wanted to attack. Of course, he had his wand and they were all unarmed, and having been in captivity for a while they were weak from being underfed, but it still paid to be careful. He entered the room and walked through the groups of prisoners searching for Hermione, pleased to see them disperse before him.

Lucius eventually found her cowering in a corner towards the back of the cell, curled up in a ball trying to ignore everything going on around her, and despite knowing he shouldn’t he felt intensely sorry for the poor young woman. He bent and picked her up, then carried her back to the door, glad that the rest of the cell’s inhabitants were too intimidated by him to try anything.

When they reached the single cell Lucius placed Hermione gently on the floor before dropping the latest bag, this one larger than the last, in front of her.

‘I brought you some more food and drink, and other stuff, too,’ he told her, examining her worriedly as she hadn’t moved at all since he released her, not even to blink her eyes. ‘I’m sorry you were moved in there, Miss Granger. I didn’t know anything about it until I arrived this evening. I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

Hermione finally turned her unhappy gaze on him.

‘You should get me out of here like you promised you would, then neither of us would have to worry about me being moved.’

Lucius sighed and told her gruffly, ‘I’ve already explained to you how difficult that is to achieve. Now eat and drink, you need to keep your strength up.’

Hermione seemed to consider his request and for a moment Lucius wondered if she would refuse just to spite him, but eventually she opened the bag, her face lighting up considerably as she saw the contents. She pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink, then retrieved the toothbrush and toothpaste and moved towards the bucket in the corner of the room.

Lucius knew Hermione would probably prefer it if he left her alone while she undertook her ablutions, but now that she was more animated he enjoyed watching her as she was still a pretty young woman, although she had lost weight — too much, he thought ruefully.

He could feel desire rising within him as he remembered the feel of her mouth on his cock, the pretty mouth that she was now cleaning. He could get her to do it again, could get her to do other things too if he wanted. He held all the cards in this relationship so why shouldn’t he capitalise on it?

Hermione used the flannel he had provided to wash, although she stuck to only her face and hands, not revealing her body at all much to Lucius’ disappointment. He suspected she was waiting until he left when she would probably sacrifice more of the precious water to clean herself properly in the dark where no one could see her.

He wished he could take Hermione somewhere she could have a long, hot bath but that wasn’t possible until he worked out a way to get her out. He could perform a spell, though, could make her considerably cleaner and hence even more attractive than she already was. Then, afterwards, she could repay him by—

Hermione had finished and returned to where he was waiting. She finally gave him the smallest of smiles.

‘Thank you for the food and drink, and especially for the toothbrush. You have absolutely no idea how awful it’s been not being able to clean my teeth. It’s one of my pet peeves thanks to parents who are dentists.’

‘I saw you wash your face,’ Lucius remarked. ‘I can go a step better than that.’

He raised his wand and used a cleaning charm, syphoning the dirt and grime from Hermione’s clothes before continuing with her skin and hair.

‘That’ll do for a little while,’ he told her once he finished, pleased at how well the spell had turned out. If it weren’t for the dark, dank room and you ignored her gaunt, colourless pallor and dark-rimmed eyes you would never know that Hermione had been kept a prisoner for several weeks.

‘Thank you.’ Hermione sounded almost surprised as she expressed her appreciation.

Lucius smiled at her. ‘It’s not much, but hopefully, it should make you feel a little better for a while . . . until I can find a way to free you.’

‘You are still going to help me, then?’ Hermione asked expectantly.

Lucius’ smile grew wider. ‘Of course I am, Miss Granger . . . or can I call you Hermione?’ She shrugged, seeming not to care whether he did or not. ‘I have every intention of helping you . . . if you still want me to?’

‘Of course I do,’ Hermione retorted, fire raging inside her for the first time in days. ‘I already paid you, didn’t I, so you owe me. Nothing’s changed.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t say that,’ Lucius answered slyly.

Hermione stared at him, her face instantly stonier. ‘What do you mean? Nothing’s changed. I’m still stuck in here and I’ve still paid you to get me out.’

‘Ah, but I told you before, your payment allowed you to stay in this cell alone and not get chosen for one of the bait groups. Now I’ve rescued you and returned you here so I think you actually owe me . . . especially if you want me to help you escape completely.’

Hermione scowled. ‘You’re breaking your word again, Mr Malfoy. If you had rescued me like you promised in the first place I wouldn’t be here and wouldn’t have needed freeing from the other cell. I don’t see why I should have to give you anything else when I’ve already suffered because of your inability to complete the contract we agreed upon.’

‘Unfortunately for you, if you still wish to escape you have no choice but to accept my terms,’ Lucius pointed out. He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It doesn’t matter one way or another to me. I can soon take you back to join the others and forget all about you. I was just doing you a favour, after all. However, if you still wish my help to escape then I am willing, but I require greater payment than you gave previously. I want more than your pretty mouth this time.’

Hermione looked aghast at Lucius’ words, her heart sinking at the thought that she was never going to escape. Although he hadn’t yet told her what he wanted as payment for her release she was fairly sure she already knew, and she really didn’t like the idea.

If she could guarantee that Lucius actually would rescue her Hermione might have considered it, even if only briefly but she suspected that he had never had any intention of freeing her nor would he in the future. He was just using her desperation to satiate his own sick desires and the price would continue to escalate until she no longer would or could agree to pay it.

The problem was that if she didn’t agree, there definitely wouldn’t be any escape and the payment she had already made would be in vain. She would be returned to the communal cell, would take her place in one of the bait groups and would probably be dead within a day or so.

As much as Hermione hated the idea of Lucius’ blackmail, the thought of dying, particularly if it caused the death of a member of the Order of the Phoenix at the same time, was far worse. At the very least she had to enquire as to what Lucius wanted from her to confirm that it was what she thought. She could just ask the question; she didn’t have to agree to his demands.

‘What do you want?’ Hermione asked dully. She kept her eyes on Lucius’, determined not to break her gaze whatever he said.

‘I’m sure you already know what I want, Hermione.’ Lucius’ voice was softer, more seductive. ‘I want your body, of course.’

Of course he did. That was why he had taken the time to clean her, Hermione thought gloomily.

She shook her head and replied sadly, ‘I can’t do that. I’m still a virgin and it’s too much, especially after already paying you once.’

‘Forget about that,’ Lucius advised. There was a touch of steely annoyance in his voice now. ‘That payment has been cancelled out by my rescue of you from the other cell.’ He studied her for a moment. ‘You wouldn’t be the first virgin I’ve had.’

‘But it’s too much,’ Hermione protested again.

Lucius almost snorted. ‘Hardly. I don’t think you have any comprehension of just how difficult it’s going to be for me to get you out of here alive. Really, I deserve the payment and more. I honestly don’t understand what your problem is. You will be having sex eventually; all I’m suggesting is bringing forward that date in order to help yourself.’

‘But I don’t want to have sex with you,’ Hermione admitted.

Lucius stared at her for several long seconds, then shrugged. ‘In that case, there’s nothing more to be said. You can move back and join the others and wait for your precious Order of the Phoenix to save you.’

Hermione felt her heart catch at his words. She really didn’t want to have sex with Lucius, the blowjob had been bad enough, but she still didn’t want to die and acceding to him would be her only opportunity to escape — if he was telling the truth.

‘Why should I believe that you’re going to help me?’ she asked. ‘You said you would before and didn’t, so why should I believe you now?’

‘I told you before that I didn’t have any choice but to bring you here and it’s true. I promise I will find a way out of here for you one way or another but I do want my payment. I’ll be putting my life and that of my family at risk because of you, so I think I deserve decent recompense.’

He paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in, then asked, ‘So what’s your answer?’

Hermione wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to decide what to do. As repugnant as the idea was she honestly had absolutely no choice but to accept if she wanted any hope of getting out of this place alive. She was distracted by the sudden noise of loud voices outside her room and automatically looked at Lucius as if he should know what was happening.

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he told her, then leaving Hermione alone and in the dark once more, Lucius left the room.

He was back only a few minutes later, a grim look of satisfaction on his face.

‘That last group was successful in snaring us another Order member,’ he said although his voice held none of the glee Hermione would have expected.

Her heart sank at the knowledge that another brave rescuer had died trying to save her colleagues from the Death Eaters. If she said no to Lucius then she might be the next one to cause a death.

‘All right.’ The words came out quietly, only just above a whisper, the look on Hermione’s face spelling out how unhappy she was as she continued to hug herself.

‘Did you say something?’ Lucius asked, taunting her now.

Hermione felt a splinter of hatred for him pierce her heart. It was bad enough that he was taking advantage of her in the first place without him being mean about it. She forced the feeling away, knowing it had no place inside her at the moment. She could retrieve it later once she had been released.

‘I said okay,’ she replied, only slightly louder than before. ‘But I’m not paying until you’ve got me out. I don’t trust you to do it otherwise.’

Lucius’ eyes seemed to gleam in the wand light.

‘Absolutely not. Payment in advance, just like before. If you really don’t trust me don’t do it . . . but then you’ll never get free. At least this way you have a chance.’

Hermione scowled as she grumbled, ‘You’re a real bastard, you know.’

‘I’ve been called far worse than that in my time, Hermione. You really need to try harder.’ Lucius chuckled at the criticism.

Hermione continued to glare at him, not speaking. She was trying to think of a way to stop Lucius or postpone the inevitable but was failing miserably.

‘We can’t do it here,’ she finally announced.

‘Why not?’ Lucius seemed genuinely interested to hear her thoughts.

‘Because there’s no bed,’ Hermione replied lamely. She knew it was a terrible answer but she had nothing better to offer.

Again came that snide chuckle. ‘We don’t need a bed, Hermione. There’s a perfectly good floor available. I can always transfigure something into a blanket if you’re squeamish about bare earth.’

‘But I’m not ready to have sex. I’m not . . . aroused,’ Hermione admitted a little embarrassedly. Sounding more distressed she added, ‘It’s going to hurt.’

Lucius considered this for several long seconds. ‘I’ll use a lubrication charm on you. It’s likely to hurt anyway as it’s your first time but that will help, and it won’t hurt for long; once we really get going you’ll soon be wet enough. Now enough talking. I need to leave shortly as I’m on duty this evening. Are we going to do this or not?’

Lucius saw the tears glistening in Hermione’s eyes but his heart leapt, desire for her racing through him as she slowly nodded her head.

‘Take your knickers off and pull up your skirt,’ he announced prosaically.

Hermione just stared at him seemingly in shock at his words. Ignoring her for a moment Lucius pulled his cloak from his shoulders, dropping it to the floor, his wand waving to transform it into a blanket as promised. He then unbuttoned his trousers, pulling them and his underpants down to his thighs, fully revealing the tumescence within.

‘Well come on, lie down and open your legs. I can cast the charm and we can get this over and done with.’

Hermione was still baulking at Lucius’ commands and was even more confused by his tone. It didn’t sound like he wanted to have sex with her any more than she wanted to do it, so why was he forcing this on her?

‘Why is this happening? You clearly don’t really want to do it, and I don’t either.’

‘Oh, don’t worry, I _want_ to do it. I just don’t have time to muck around and wait for you to get in the mood,’ Lucius answered curtly. ‘Now get on the blanket and stop complaining, otherwise I’m going to run out of time and then you’ll be in serious trouble.’     

With a huge sigh, Hermione sat down on the blanket, wriggling her bottom as she pulled down her knickers. She wasn’t at all happy about raising her skirt and revealing her most intimate area to Lucius’ gaze and almost wished he would dispel the light so neither of them could see, but Hermione understood that she had to do so in order for him to cast a decent lubrication charm. With the speed with which he seemed to be intent on completing this whole transaction, she couldn’t risk stalling for too long or Lucius might decide not to bother with the charm, which she knew was purely for her benefit rather than his.

Hermione lay back, closing her eyes and opening her legs, all the while trying to concentrate only on the blanket and enjoy the soft, warm feel of it, the first touch of luxury since she had been brought to this prison Merlin only knew how long ago, and forget about what was about to happen with Lucius.

‘You are truly beautiful, Hermione,’ Lucius told her, his voice a hushed whisper of appreciation. ‘I wish I had time to make love to you properly but, alas, we have minutes rather than hours.’

Hermione bit her lip as his hand brushed over her mound, fingers stroking first her clitoris and then her vulva, probing and pressing as she tried desperately to remain calm. She gasped as his fingers slid inside her, tight and uncomfortable, making her heart pound with fear that she had made a mistake. But it was too late to stop now.

There was a sudden cool feeling, the lubrication charm working to provide the moisture required to ease Lucius’ access, his fingers working to spread it where it was most needed, then Hermione felt the weight of him on top of her; his fingers gone and his cock already pressing against her tight entrance, eager to replace them.

_Please don’t let it hurt too much_ , she prayed silently, although she had no expectation of anyone listening.

‘Just relax,’ Lucius murmured in her ear.

But Hermione couldn’t relax and his words, designed to reassure, just made her tense up even more, knowing what was about to happen. She gave a small cry as he entered her, unable to stop herself although the pain was less intense than she had expected, her mind conjuring up images of agony that never bore fruit. Instead, it was just uncomfortable, although the lubrication was definitely helping.    

She lay still as Lucius moved on top of her, wondering why it was that everyone seemed so eager to have sex when it was such an anti-climax. Maybe it was just her; after all, Lucius seemed to be enjoying it well enough. Perhaps she needed to try to get into the spirit of it more.

Opening her eyes, finally, Hermione stared up at Lucius. His eyes were closed, an expression of pure joy on his face. He really was enjoying it; whispered words telling her just how much as he continued to thrust deep inside her. He had been right, though, the uncomfortable feeling was gone and had been replaced by something far more interesting.

Hermione found herself moving in time with Lucius, their bodies rubbing deliciously against each other where they met, and now she realised how the desire to take time and build up to this would make the act even more satisfying, how being completely naked, bare skin brushing against bare skin, would elevate it to a whole new level of enjoyment.

Lucius wasn’t the only one making noises now. Hermione found herself gasping and mewling as the feeling of Lucius’ cock inside her transported her to a new level of consciousness; a realisation that her body could elicit such pleasure.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down, her mouth seeking out his for a kiss that could only increase the intimacy between them, but as her lips brushed against his, Lucius jerked away and out of her, sitting back, his eyes blasting a look of fury.

‘No touching,’ he growled.

Hermione stared at him in surprise. ‘I was just trying to make it more intimate. . . .’ She found her voice trailing off under the intensity of his anger.

‘This is a business transaction, not a romantic interlude,’ Lucius told her gruffly. ‘Get on your hands and knees.’

‘But—’

‘I said, get on your hands and knees.’ It was clear that Lucius had no intention of changing his mind.

Unhappy about the turn events had suddenly taken, Hermione considered refusing Lucius’ command. She had no idea what he was going to do, and with the flaring of his anger, she was suddenly afraid.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it just as much . . . more, probably,’ Lucius said, trying to get his temper under control. ‘We haven’t got all day. Now move!’

Grudgingly, Hermione moved, more aware than ever of how much Lucius could see of her lower body in this new position. There was that cooling sensation again as Lucius cast another lubrication charm and the feeling of his hand gently stroking her bottom for a few seconds before he moved behind her, his hands now holding tight to her hips as he thrust into her again with a loud moan.

‘Oh fuck, yes, that feels good,’ Lucius groaned.

Hermione was soon moaning, too. In this new position, the feelings that had been building inside her with Lucius’ movements were more intense, almost unbearable in their beauty as if he was filling her completely and every slight movement was enough to stimulate nerve-endings she had never known existed before.

Lucius had found a steady rhythm, pounding away, his hands never moving from their place on either side of her hips, his moans of pleasure matching each thrust, coalescing with Hermione’s as the speed increased following an imperative that neither voiced but both seemed to understand implicitly.

Without warning, Hermione squealed, her body bucking as the unbearable ache inside her blossomed into an overwhelming feeling of warmth and peace, and something more, like a million points of light, erupting and exploding out of her in a need to be free.

Distantly she could hear Lucius, his cries once more a match to her own; suddenly all was still as he stopped moving, a guttural cry of ecstasy ripped from his throat. Then he was leaving her, his body removing itself from her presence, leaving Hermione feeling suddenly bereft. A few seconds later she collapsed onto the blanket.

Lucius, who had already used his wand to clean himself and get dressed, looked down at Hermione. He waved his wand to clean her, too. She was lying on his cloak, a look of bliss on her face but he couldn’t bring himself to remove her and take it back. It was a small enough sacrifice after the immense amount of pleasure she had just given him.

Mudblood she may be, but she was without a doubt absolutely gorgeous and Lucius knew he had to leave before she started arousing him again. Anyway, Antonin would be wondering where he had got to. He had probably expected Lucius to demand another blowjob not full sex.

‘I need to leave now,’ he told her, his voice husky with the desire that still consumed him.

‘You said you were going to help me escape.’ Hermione looked up at him, a tinge of anxiety in her face.

Lucius sighed loudly. ‘I am, but not at the moment. I’m expected for guard duty and there’s no way I can do anything during that.’

Hermione had sat up now, her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared at him accusingly.

‘You don’t have any intention of freeing me, do you?’

‘Of course I do. I told you I would. But it has to be at the right time, Hermione, and that’s not now. Soon, though. I promise. I’ll see you soon.’

Lucius left the cell, leaving Hermione in darkness once more. It took her a few minutes to realise that he had left his cloak, the one he had transfigured. She felt around for her knickers and put them back on, then wrapped herself in the blanket; tears now rolled down her cheeks as she thought back over what had just happened between her and Lucius, her heart breaking as she faced the possibility that she was never going to get free.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucius was worried. He had promised Hermione that he would help her escape and yet he still hadn’t managed to do anything about it; worse still, he didn’t really have a plan of how he was going to achieve it. Guilt was eating away at him, knowing he was letting her down, particularly after the wonderful sex they’d had; in which he would more than happily indulge again given the opportunity. Hermione was a passionate creature underneath that terse and self-righteous exterior and he would jump at the chance to conquer her once more.

Antonin had been full of mirth on his return to the office, making jokes about the ways in which Lucius and his son could use Hermione between them if they had the chance. Lucius had let the comments wash over him as he relived the recent encounter in the cell in his mind. Antonin was right: there were all sorts of interesting things he and Hermione could do together given the opportunity. But there was no way he was letting Draco anywhere near her. Hermione was his and he had no intention of sharing her with anyone.

But his resolve to effect a quick escape, with the hopeful possibility that she might be grateful enough to be amenable to more sexual activity once they got somewhere safer, had quickly been dashed by the Dark Lord’s insistence that Lucius attend him and carry out duties on his behalf. Saying no was impossible so he found himself dispatched on various pointless errands, unable to get anywhere near the cave where Hermione and her fellow Mudbloods were being held.

He had been home for less than an hour, barely long enough to share a meal with his wife and Draco, when he received a message from Antonin warning him that Hermione had been moved again. As predicted, Rodolphus had moved her back to the main holding area during his latest shift and Lucius was convinced his brother-in-law would ensure she was put into the next group to be used as bait for the Order of the Phoenix. Once that happened and Hermione was moved from the cave he would be able to do nothing to assist her, and with the current rate of success of the Death Eaters’ plans, Hermione would be dead within a couple of days at most.

Lucius knew the time had come for him to act. He had no choice, he couldn’t leave it any longer even if he didn’t have a plan. Apologising to Narcissa for needing to leave again so soon – although he knew she didn’t really care whether he was there or not – he made his way to the cave, hoping inspiration would strike once he got there.  

Upon arrival, he was gratified to see that in the main the guards this evening were newer members of the Dark Lord’s cadre, youngsters who would be easier to convince than those he had known and worked with for years. He already knew Antonin wasn’t going to be there overseeing operations. He had been replaced this evening by the odious Amycus Carrow, no doubt with his equally vile sister, Alecto.

His only plan so far was to get in, hopefully without being spotted by the Carrows, retrieve Hermione from the general holding pen, and then . . . well, then he would have to play it by ear. But one way or another Hermione would be free by the end of the night.

Lucius fairly easily avoided the Death Eaters outside the cave, slipping inside without being spotted, although he knew they would have been happy to admit him had he walked right up to them. But this way he could pretend to have been on duty himself, just leaving after a long and tedious shift. Those outside would be none the wiser.

The corridor was relatively quiet as he made his way to the holding cells – the prisoners must have been fed and were settling down for sleep. This was ominous as it meant the group for tomorrow’s attack would have already been picked and segregated from the others in preparation for release.

Although it was likely that Rodolphus would have placed Hermione in that group, Lucius couldn’t be completely sure. He had to decide, and quickly, whether to take a chance that she had or to search the original holding cell to see if she was still there. The former would save him time and the possibility of getting caught, thus enhancing his chances of actually managing to rescue Hermione, but the latter would confirm his fears. 

Lucius knew he should check but there really wasn’t time; being caught rescuing Hermione would be catastrophic for his entire family, not just him, and the more time he had to do that the better. Anyway, he was ninety-eight percent certain she would be in the bait group. Rodolphus was a mean bastard when he wanted to be. Lucius had never liked him much and he was aware the feeling was mutual. Rodolphus knew of Lucius’ interest in Hermione and would have moved her purely to spite him.

Hurrying now, Lucius made his way to the area where the bait group would be held, waiting in the shadows and watching to see how the group were being guarded. There was only one Death Eater keeping watch on the cell, for some reason dressed in full regalia including his mask, Lucius assumed because he was trying to scare those within the cell who made a noise. It seemed to have worked as the cell was silent, with not even a whisper from any of the inhabitants.

He waited another five minutes to make sure no one else was coming to relieve or join the guard, then moved silently from the shadows, his wand drawn. A Stunning spell felled the guard before he even knew what hit him. Lucius laid him down gently on the floor, then searched his robe for the key to the cell – no easily broken magical locks for these prisoners. Another minute saw him retrieving the key; then, with a final look around to make sure he wasn’t being observed, Lucius opened the door to the cell and went inside.

There were six people inside the small room, all sitting on the floor, all seemingly in their own little worlds. Lucius had no idea whether they, like Hermione, knew of their fate; that they were to be used as bait to draw out the Death Eaters’ opponents in order to kill them, but if they did they never showed it. Not one of them looked up as he passed, making his way around the room looking for Hermione, wondering whether he had made a mistake.

He hadn’t.

Lucius eventually found her, as expected, curled up in a ball, apparently trying to sleep.

He bent down to shake her gently.

‘Hermione, I’ve come to get you,’ he whispered.

Hermione opened her eyes and stared at him as if she didn’t recognise him. Lucius’ heart thumped harder. Had Rodolphus done something to her that Antonin hadn’t mentioned in his missive?

‘I didn’t think you were coming back,’ she admitted, her voice cracking as if on the verge of tears. ‘I thought you were going to let me die.’

‘I promised you I wouldn’t,’ Lucius pointed out. ‘Look, we haven’t got time to talk now. We need to get out of here.’

He helped her to stand and realised how little she now weighed. Hermione really needed to get a decent meal inside her as soon as possible. But there was no time to worry about that at the moment. First, they had to escape.

‘Can the others come too?’ Hermione asked hopefully.

Lucius realised the rest of the group were staring at him.

‘No, they can’t.’ He saw Hermione’s reproachful look and moderated his tone a little. ‘I’m sorry but there’s just no way I’ll be able to get you all out. Just getting you out is going to be hard enough, Hermione. Can you walk?’

Hermione nodded but didn’t speak. Lucius knew it was because she was upset at his refusal to help the other captives. He had no time for any of that nonsense; rescuing Hermione was already a dangerous enough proposition without adding another five people to the task. He just hoped she wouldn’t refuse to leave if they couldn’t go as well.

‘Come on, then,’ he said lightly and led her towards the door.

The other captives watched them go for a few seconds before retreating back into themselves.

‘Will they raise the alarm?’ Lucius asked once they got outside.

‘I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think they’ll just be grateful that one of us got away to warn the Order,’ Hermione said.

‘Good. We’re going to have enough problems getting past the guards at the exit without having to battle a load in here, too. It’s this way.’ Lucius indicated the route they needed to take.

Hermione looked down at the Stunned Death Eater.

‘Is he dead?’

‘No. I just Stunned him. Once you get to the end of the corridor I’ll use a spell to awaken him. We don’t want to risk someone coming along and seeing him like that or they’ll realise something has happened. Hopefully, with him awake no one will realise, or at least not until it’s too late.’

‘But if they find out won’t they know it was you?’ Hermione asked worriedly.

‘They’re not going to find out,’ Lucius insisted. ‘The guards who take the group tomorrow won’t be worried whether there are five or six people in the group, just that there’s a group. As long as we don’t get caught tonight I’ll be safe enough. Now, we really need to get moving. You go and wait for me at the end of this corridor. There’s a shallow alcove you can wait in so no one will see you. I won’t be a minute.’

Lucius waited until Hermione had positioned herself in the alcove so she was no longer visible to anyone in the corridor, then used his wand to stand the Death Eater up, leaning him against the wall and replacing the cell key in his pocket. He then proceeded to remove the guard’s memories of his approach before reversing the Stunning spell. Before the Death Eater had a chance to come round fully, while he was still looking around him in confusion, Lucius was gone, Hermione joining him as they moved quickly towards the exit.

The Death Eater, still confused, stared at the cell door then patted his pocket, relief flooding through him at finding the key still there although he wasn’t entirely sure why. He went to the door and unlocked it, opened it and pointed his wand through the door; the lit tip cast a light which he moved around the room. The prisoners were all still there, curled up and motionless as they had been since they had been brought there.

He gave them a threatening scowl, which was completely pointless as he was wearing his mask, then closed the door and locked it once more. The Death Eater stared at his watch. He had well over an hour before he was due to be relieved. Now he was wishing he had thought to bring a flask of tea with him. He had a headache, which seemed to have come from nowhere, and a drink would be welcome but he wasn’t allowed to leave his post, even if the prisoners were safe and locked away. He had no choice but to wait until his replacement turned up.

His head really was hurting, though. He moved across to the other side of the corridor and sat down facing the door to the cell. He began to rummage in his robes and finally produced a packet of mints from one of the pockets. They weren’t much and weren’t likely to help the headache, but they were better than nothing. He opened the packet and popped one in his mouth, sucking it as he closed his eyes for a moment in hopes that it would relieve the dull ache.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione followed Lucius down the corridors of the cave, surprised at how well provisioned the place was. Surely this wasn’t a new location for them; it had to have been a hideout they had used the first time round. She wondered whether the Order of the Phoenix knew about it. She supposed not, otherwise surely they would have realised that the missing hostages might be housed here, although maybe it was too well protected for the Order to attempt an attack. There were certainly a lot of guards around this evening. She and Lucius had already had to hide four times and they had only been through a couple of corridors.

‘Was this place used during the first war?’ she asked.

Lucius glanced at her. ‘Yes. But we didn’t keep prisoners here then. It was a place to keep supplies and hide out in when the Ministry and the Order were trying to track us down. It’s been made unplottable so I’m not sure that anyone outside of the Death Eaters knows it exists . . . apart from the captives that are now housed here.’ He paused for a moment, then added, ‘It’s where we came when we all first broke out of Azkaban last year. We waited here because the Aurors were obviously going to our homes to see if we’d returned there. Once the Dark Lord began to take over at the Ministry we were able to leave and resume our former lives.’

Hermione nodded in understanding. That would explain why those who had escaped from Azkaban had seemed to the Ministry of Magic to have disappeared without a trace. They had gone to ground in the cave system, although Hermione was certain they had been housed in slightly better conditions than she and her fellows had. She was about to mention it when Lucius touched her shoulder in warning, forcing her to stop. 

‘Stay here a minute.’

Lucius left Hermione and inched his way forward, checking around the corner to see the exit. The guards were still there conversing with each other but he couldn’t hear what they were talking about. As he watched, one of them gave a small laugh, patted his colleague on the shoulder and walked away. Lucius’ heart lifted. Now was the perfect moment to leave.

He returned to Hermione.

‘I’m afraid I need to Stun you again.’ Lucius sounded almost sorry. ‘It’ll be easier that way.’

Hermione stared at him suspiciously. ‘I remember what happened the last time you Stunned me.’

‘It won’t be like that this time, I promise, Hermione. This time I will get you out.’

Grudgingly Hermione agreed, although she knew she had little choice. Even if she said no, Lucius was the one with the wand and he could do exactly as he pleased.

Once Stunned, Lucius lifted Hermione over his shoulder and carried her towards the open door. He had to act as if he knew exactly what he was doing and had the authority to do it if he wanted any chance of getting Hermione — and himself, come to that — out of there alive.

‘What’s going on, Lucius?’ the wizard on the door asked in surprise when Lucius reached him. He looked at the body draped over the blond man’s shoulder. ‘What are you doing with her? We’re supposed to be saving them for the plan, not disposing of them separately.’ He considered for a moment, then added with a frown, ‘Is she still alive?’

For a second Lucius considered telling the guard that Hermione was dead as it might get him the release he desired sooner, but almost immediately he decided against it. If the man checked properly it would be obvious that she was only Stunned.

‘She’s fine, Marcus, I just Stunned her because she was making such a bloody fuss about not wanting to come with me,’ Lucius said, sounding uncaring. He allowed himself a wicked smirk and added conspiratorially, ‘The girl’s an old school acquaintance of Draco’s — always getting him into trouble, so I thought I’d give the lad a treat, you know, give him the chance to even up the score without those blasted Mudblood-loving teachers around to stop his fun. There are still plenty of Mudbloods back there with more arriving almost every day, so one won’t be missed.’

Marcus grunted, seemingly sympathising with Lucius. ‘Those bloody teachers were always too easy on the Mudbloods. Us poor Pure-bloods were treated like shit in comparison. Draco was always a good lad, knew how things stood, but that bloody Potter and his friends always had it in for him, always getting him into trouble for no good reason.’

‘That’s why I wanted to take her,’ Lucius said. ‘I have to admit, Marcus, that I’m a little worried about Draco’s ability to do what needs to be done once the Dark Lord plays his hand. I understand there was some hesitation over Dumbledore and I don’t want it to happen again. You know yourself how difficult the first kill is. If Draco has his fun with this one then finishes her off, it should give him the confidence he’s currently lacking.’

Marcus seemed to consider for a moment. ‘You’re going to dispose of her afterwards, are you?’

Lucius shrugged easily. ‘If there’s anything left of her by the time Draco has finished with her. Anyway, she won’t be hard to get rid of. I don’t anticipate any problems in that respect.’

‘I almost wish I could be there to see it,’ Marcus said, a malicious grin crossing his face. He glanced at Hermione again. ‘He’ll give her a good seeing to before he kills her, eh?’

‘No doubt,’ Lucius replied dryly. ‘My son is at that age where the pursuit of sexual gratification is never far from his mind.’

‘I think we’re all like that whenever there’s a chance,’ Marcus opined.

Lucius nodded slightly, indicating that this was a possibility.

‘Obviously, I’d prefer it if this wasn’t mentioned to anyone else, otherwise things might be a little difficult.’ Lucius saw Marcus thinking about his words; the frown was back on the man’s face. He added more enticingly, ‘The Dark Lord will be in need of decent advisors in the coming battle — those who can think for themselves; can understand and react to a situation appropriately and quickly. I’m sure I could have a quiet word with him on your behalf if you wish it. You’re the sort of upright fellow we’ll need when everything goes down.’

He watched Marcus preen at the compliment, knowing that he had won him over.

Seizing the advantage, he pressed, ‘We should go for a drink sometime soon to talk things over. When are you free?’

Eager now, Marcus looked at his watch. ‘My shift finishes at ten tonight. I’m not back here again until the day after tomorrow . . . so maybe tomorrow sometime, if you’re available?’  

‘That would be good,’ Lucius acknowledged with a nod. ‘Look, I really need to go, Marcus. I want to get her home before this Stunning spell wears off otherwise she’ll be an absolute nightmare to deal with. I also want to get her hidden away before Narcissa realises we have her. You know what women are like.’

Marcus chuckled knowingly. ‘She wouldn’t be too pleased, eh? Perhaps she’d think it wasn’t just Draco who was going to have some fun with her.’

Lucius shrugged. Sounding bored, he replied, ‘To be honest, I have absolutely no interest in the girl other than knowing what Draco is going to do with her. But women can be funny creatures; they get upset over the strangest things. It’s better for me to have her installed before Narcissa returns from her evening out; saves all the bother of having to explain.’

Still grinning, Marcus moved away from the door, allowing space for Lucius to exit.

‘Tell Draco to give her one from me,’ he said.

‘Oh, I don’t think she’s going to know what hit her,’ Lucius answered. He was smiling now, too.

Making sure not to rush although, in reality, he wanted to run as fast as possible, Lucius walked a decent distance way away from the cave before Apparating. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Lucius stood outside the gates of Hogwarts, scouting around the quiet lane before removing Hermione from his shoulder and placing her gently on the ground. He had seriously debated returning to Malfoy Manor, the idea of demanding one last payment from the beautiful girl before he released her for good almost driving him to do it, but at the last moment he had demurred.

It wasn’t because of Narcissa. Despite his hint to Marcus, Lucius knew his wife would have no interest in Hermione beyond when she was going to leave the manor. Her opinion of him was unlikely to sink any lower; she would easily believe that he was gross enough, as she would see it, to enjoy sexual favours with a Mudblood.

He had briefly considered taking Hermione to his bed after a long hot bath, the two of them engaging in a protracted and sensual lovemaking session that encompassed everything he had already imagined doing with her along with anything else he could think up at the time.

But although it appeared he had got away cleanly it wasn’t completely guaranteed that Hermione’s presence wouldn’t be missed or that Marcus wouldn’t inadvertently mention to the wrong person something about Lucius and the young woman he was carrying. It would be a disaster for both of them if Hermione was discovered at his home, whether in bed or not.

Hermione wouldn’t be safe until she was back with her friends, and Lucius wouldn’t be safe until she was away from him. Once she was gone there would be no proof that he had ever done anything to help her, apart from his conversation with Marcus, and that would be struck from the man’s memory tomorrow when Lucius met him for a drink. The important thing now was to keep his promise to Hermione and get her to safety, and that meant taking her back to Hogwarts. Even if it was still the school holidays the current Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, would be sure to take her in.

Lucius used his wand to reverse the Stunning spell and watched as Hermione came round, blinking and confused. He bent down to help her up.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked in concern.

Hermione nodded, then moaned and clutched at her head. She had a headache from being Stunned and nodding had done nothing to help it.   

‘Another headache,’ she said ruefully.

‘Go to the Hospital Wing and see Madam Pomfrey,’ Lucius advised. ‘She’ll be able to give you a potion and some food. You need to start eating properly to get back the weight you lost while you were in captivity.’

Hermione was looking around her, seeming to realise only now where they were.

‘You’re letting me go?’ She sounded astonished.

‘I told you I would,’ Lucius said, trying to fight the annoyance that flared inside him at Hermione’s words. Even now, after everything he had done to help her, she still didn’t trust him.

‘I know you did. But I thought—’

‘—that I was lying.’ Lucius cut her off bluntly.

‘No . . . well, yes . . . to begin with. I thought maybe you would get me out of that prison but keep me as a captive elsewhere — Malfoy Manor, maybe.’

‘Pray tell me, just what would I do with you at Malfoy Manor?’ Lucius asked.

Hermione blushed vividly. Lucius had rescued her, just as he had promised, and she had been about to accuse him of something awful. She shook her head, not wanting to answer.

‘No, come on, Hermione, tell me. Why do you think I would want to hold onto you when I told you I would help you escape?’

‘I didn’t think you would let me go completely,’ she admitted, ‘and after the sex and everything—’ She broke off again, frowning, not wanting to continue.

‘I had always intended to release you, Hermione. There was never any question of that not happening,’ Lucius told her, trying to keep his voice even although it was significantly cooler now. ‘I will admit I did consider requesting another payment. Considering everything I’ve been through this evening in order to rescue you I feel I would have been perfectly within my rights to do so. But you made it clear last time that you wouldn’t welcome such a suggestion again so I didn’t bother, even though I know you enjoyed it, whatever you may try to pretend.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Hermione mumbled.

She suddenly felt stupid and ashamed of her behaviour. She should be thanking Lucius profusely for his rescue of her, not accusing him of things that he had no intention of doing. She was literally thirty seconds’ walk from the gates of Hogwarts and complete freedom. It was time for her to be grateful, not judgemental.

‘Thank you, Mr Malfoy,’ she said and held out her hand to shake his.

Lucius stared at her hand for a moment before taking it.

‘Call me Lucius,’ he suggested. ‘I think we’ve gone beyond surnames by now, haven’t we?’

Hermione smiled. ‘Thank you, _Lucius_. I really _am_ very grateful for what you did, even if I didn’t make that clear to begin with.’

‘Here, you’ll need this.’ Lucius pulled her wand out of his pocket with his free hand and handed it to her. Hermione looked at him in surprise. ‘You need to go,’ Lucius said, releasing her hand and moving back.

The urge to pull Hermione to him and Apparate away, back to Malfoy Manor where he could live out his fantasies, was growing again but Lucius had to let her go. He would be the hero, not the villain, for once in his life.

‘Go!’ he repeated more urgently.

Hermione nodded once more and walked across the road. She touched the massive wrought iron gates with the winged boars on top of the columns at either side with her wand and waited for someone to come and let her in. She turned and waved at Lucius.

He raised his hand in a gesture of farewell, and as Hermione watched, he Apparated away with a pop.


	4. Four

** PART TWO - POST-WAR **

 

Hermione looked around her as she entered the Leaky Cauldron. It was full of the sort of people she would expect for the late afternoon crowd: early evening diners and those stopping for a quick drink before making their way home after work or a day of shopping in Diagon Alley. However, the one person she had been hoping would be there wasn’t in the main bar area, although she wasn’t entirely surprised by that. She made her way to the bar and waited patiently until Tom, the barman, finished serving the group in front of her.

‘What would you like?’ he asked. Somewhere between the till and getting to Hermione Tom had gained a glass, which he was polishing with a cloth.

‘A large glass of dry white wine, please, Soave if you have it.’ 

She waited until he returned with her change before saying, ‘I understand Lucius Malfoy is staying here. Has he returned yet?’

Tom stared at her suspiciously for a moment, her change still in his hand.

‘Are you a reporter?’ he asked coolly.

Hermione smiled and shook her head as she reached her hand out for the change. ‘No. I’m a friend. He’s not expecting me but I was hoping to have a drink with him if he’s back.’

Tom looked unmoved by her explanation. He picked up another glass and began to polish it.

‘Are you sure you’re not a reporter? I recognise your face from somewhere.’

Hermione held up her hands in supplication. ‘I swear I’m not. My name is Hermione Granger and I’m just a friend of Lucius’.’

‘A friend, eh? Funny, ’cos he was a Death Eater, wasn’t he? Didn’t he fight against your lot during the war?’ Tom’s voice gave no indication whether he thought this was a good thing or not.

‘He was cleared of those charges earlier today. Harry and I both gave evidence at his trial to help him,’ Hermione said. She took a sip of her wine, then added honestly, ‘I’m not really sure what to do now as I wanted to surprise him with a congratulatory drink, but he doesn’t appear to be down here unless he’s in a private area. I understand that you’re protective of your clientele, Tom, but I really would like to see him if possible, even if only for a couple of minutes.’

Tom disappeared to the other end of the bar to serve several customers. Hermione took a seat at the bar and looked around the room with interest as she drank her wine. She didn’t really feel comfortable in pubs, particularly when she was on her own, but she had chanced it in the hope that Lucius would be there celebrating his release.

She couldn’t blame the landlord for wanting to protect his customers but it was extremely annoying when she had made the effort to come here. She could either give up or sit down here in the bar and hope that eventually Lucius would turn up, maybe once the bulk of the early evening customers had left.

‘Do you want another glass of wine?’ Tom had finally returned to Hermione’s end of the bar. He indicated her now empty glass.

‘Thank you, I will,’ Hermione replied.

‘He’s back and he’s in room seven,’ Tom told her quietly when he placed the glass in front of her. ‘You’d better hope he wants to see you.’

Hermione smiled as she paid him. ‘Thank you so much, Tom. If he doesn’t want to see me I’ll leave immediately with no fuss, I promise.’

She picked up her glass, took a sip for Dutch courage, and made her way towards the stairs that led to the rooms.

Hermione still wasn’t sure why she was going to see Lucius; she wasn’t even sure why she had decided to testify for him in court, but something was drawing her to him and she knew she couldn’t rest until she had spoken to him.

She guessed it was because she still believed that if it hadn’t been for Lucius’ rescue of her a few years before she would be dead, and it was quite likely that without her there to help him, Harry and possibly even Ron would have ended up dead, too, at the hands of Voldemort. Instead, Harry had prevailed and the Dark wizard Lucius had followed for so many years had finally been defeated and was never coming back.

Despite the fact that he had forced payment from her that she hadn’t wanted to give, Hermione still felt profoundly grateful to Lucius for what he had done and this had made her decide that she had to try to help him escape prison, especially as she was fairly certain that the Malfoys’ allegiance had changed by the time of the Battle of Hogwarts.

She was aware that Ron couldn’t understand why she had done it, but then he was still angry with Lucius and his family for what they had allowed Bellatrix to do to her when they had been held captive at Malfoy Manor during the war. Hermione had instinctively understood that the Malfoys had no choice but to allow their insane relative to torture her and were unable to do anything to stop her; she, unlike her fierce friend, felt little animosity towards them because of it.

Harry had already agreed to testify on Lucius’ behalf before Hermione had decided to do so, as Lucius’ wife, Narcissa, had helped Harry while he was in the forest by lying to Voldemort about his apparent demise. This had enabled him to get back to the school and had given him the edge he needed to finish the Dark wizard once and for all. Hermione knew Harry had no love for Lucius but had felt that he needed to speak up for the Malfoys as they had helped him.

Hermione’s testimony had come as a complete surprise to everyone, including Lucius and her best friends, and she was fairly certain it had been the deciding factor in allowing the blond man to go free rather than be sent to Azkaban with the other captured Death Eaters.

Lucius had committed crimes against the wizarding world. He had freely admitted them to the Wizengamot, wanting to be seen to have changed and been repentant. But it was Hermione’s story, missing the part where payment had been demanded and received, that had proved to the court that he had, as Lucius had suggested during his trial, defected from Voldemort’s side long before the ghastly final battle at Hogwarts that had ended with the Dark wizard’s death.   

Despite seeing Lucius a few times since her escape, none of them had ever been the sort of situation where Hermione could talk to him and thank him properly for his rescue of her. Now she wanted to congratulate him on the result of the trial, too. She took another sip of her wine as she stood outside room seven wondering whether this was a good idea. Probably not, but she would do it anyway. If Lucius didn’t want to see her he would soon send her away.

She knocked on the door and waited, fighting the urge to turn and run.

After several long seconds, the door opened slightly. Lucius looked wary as he peered out of the crack. Once he realised it was Hermione he opened the door wider, smiling at her as he ushered her inside.

‘Hermione! Come in. What a pleasure to see you again. What are you doing here?’

‘I won’t stay long,’ Hermione said, feeling anxious that she had intruded. ‘I just wanted to say congratulations on the result of the trial.’

Lucius closed the door behind her and walked towards a table. He picked up a bottle of champagne and turned towards her.

‘Do you want a drink—’ He spotted the glass she was holding and put the bottle back down, picking up his own half-full glass instead. ‘You’ve already got one. I was just celebrating my release – all thanks to you, of course.’

He lifted the glass in a toast to her before taking a sip.

‘I think Harry helped,’ Hermione pointed out humbly.

Lucius grinned widely. ‘He did, and I’m very grateful to him, but you definitely swung it with the Wizengamot, Hermione. Your story of how I bravely rescued you was beautiful; it really made them see me in a completely different light. It was wonderful and I was extremely touched by the gesture.’ He took another sip of his champagne, then scrutinised Hermione. ‘I’m obviously extremely glad you did, but what on earth made you decide to help me?’

‘You saved my life! Without you, I would have been dead and Harry might never have been able to defeat Voldemort. Why wouldn’t I want everyone to know that?’

Hermione’s exclamation sounded a little surprised as if she couldn’t understand why Lucius didn’t know why she had testified for him.

‘Yes, I helped you, but I didn’t do out of the goodness of my heart,’ Lucius pointed out. ‘I did it because you paid me to, but you didn’t mention anything about that during the trial.’

Hermione was a little embarrassed now. ‘I didn’t think anyone needed to know about that part. Why, did you want me to tell the court that you only rescued me because I shagged you?’

Lucius shook his head. ‘No, I’m glad you left it out. I don’t think that story would have endeared me to the old busybodies in the Wizengamot quite so much. I’m just surprised that you didn’t mention payment at all, not even in passing.’

‘Perhaps I realised that I probably owed you more,’ Hermione said with a slight shrug.

It had been during her time on the run with Harry and Ron that Hermione had finally realised how difficult it must have been for Lucius to rescue her from the cave and what he had risked in doing so. It had been playing on her mind ever since: the thought that maybe she still owed Lucius for what he had done for her.

‘Well if you did, today you’ve repaid it with considerable interest,’ Lucius answered convivially. ‘Consider any debt between us repaid in full.’

Hermione realised that she didn’t really have anything more to say and knew she ought to leave before things turned awkward between them.

‘I really should be going, Lucius. I didn’t mean to intrude. I just wanted say how pleased I was that you were cleared.’ Hermione leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thank you one last time for rescuing me.’

Lucius smiled. ‘I’m glad you came to see me, Hermione. I have my freedom because of you so it gives me a chance to thank you in return.’

Hermione put her now empty glass on the table and began to walk towards the door. Lucius followed her.

‘Do you know why I insisted on no kissing or touching while we were having sex?’ he asked suddenly.

Hermione turned to face him, looking a little surprised at the question.

‘I assumed it was because I’m Muggle-born. You fancied me enough to want to shag me but you didn’t want it to turn personal.’

‘You were partly right,’ Lucius said as he moved closer to her.

Hermione felt herself stiffen with anger. Even now, after everything that had happened, Lucius still couldn’t see past her blood-status. Perhaps he hadn’t changed that much after all.

‘The truth is that I had to keep it as a business transaction and not let it get personal,’ Lucius admitted. ‘I wanted to kiss you, to hold you, to make love to you properly – I desired it more than you realise, Hermione. But if we had made it personal I would never have been able to let you go, would never have had the strength of mind to release you. I would have wanted to keep you near me, keep you somewhere where I could make love to you again and again, regardless of what that would mean.

‘But that was never our agreement, and deep inside a part of me knew that you needed to be free to help Potter so I _had_ to make it business-like, although in truth it hurt to see you upset by my attitude towards you. I want to apologise for that before you leave. I want you to know the truth.’ 

Hermione stared at Lucius for several seconds without saying anything, her heart suddenly pounding as she processed what he was saying. Although she had never wanted to have sex with him in the first place it had hurt when Lucius had rejected her attempt to make it less mechanical, and she had always assumed it was because he considered her inferior. Now he was telling her that his feelings for her ran much deeper than she had ever thought possible and she wasn’t sure what she should say or do in response.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve shocked you,’ Lucius said calmly. ‘I just thought you should know.’

Hermione realised that he had moved again and was now standing close enough to touch.

‘Lucius—’ she whispered.

‘You’re so beautiful, Hermione,’ he told her, his hand reaching out to stroke her face.

Hermione closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his touch even though she knew she shouldn’t.

Lucius wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, his mouth finding hers tenderly but with a forcefulness that told Hermione he had no intention of stopping. She wrapped her arms around him in return, enjoying the kiss that should have happened so much sooner.

A second kiss followed the first, more passionate still, and then a third, and then they were moving. Lucius guided Hermione towards the bed, his hands roaming now, no longer just on her waist. Her hands were moving, too, pulling at his clothes the same way he was doing with hers, the two of them eager to undress each other. They crashed onto the bed, tongues still entwined as they fought to remove clothes; Hermione’s bra proved to be an easy challenge for Lucius to beat.

Finally, he broke free and moved so he could concentrate on Hermione’s skirt and underwear. His hands parted her legs and his mouth swooped to taste her, his tongue following the trail his fingers had taken so long before. Hermione sighed as Lucius savoured every moment, his only goal to make her cum as she had once made him cum with her mouth.

Part of Hermione was astonished at what was happening but most of her knew that this was what she needed; was, in truth, what she had craved ever since Lucius had first made love to her. Now they finally had the chance to really satisfy each other properly and Lucius was making a wonderful start.

Her orgasm was swift and intense, and even before Lucius released her she was reaching for him, keen to get beneath the trousers and pants and find his cock. It was already erect but Hermione wanted Lucius to know she was as eager as he. Her hand wrapped around it, remembering the grip he had taught her.

His gasp of pleasure was enough to spur Hermione on and her mouth dipped to envelop the hard length, taking him as deep as she could manage. Lucius groaned loudly, his fingers running through her hair. She sucked him hard then released him, knowing what she needed now, what she was sure he needed, too.

Hermione lay on her back as Lucius climbed on top of her, his cock already pressing for entrance. Without waiting she guided him in; then they started moving against each other and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to kiss her, knowing this time he wouldn’t refuse. Their bodies entwined as they drove each other on, hard, thrusting and urgent, each wanting the other to climax, each already so close as they devoured each other.

Then Hermione was crying out and waves of ecstasy washed over her as the ache within her changed from unbearable to joyous. She was lightheaded and having trouble breathing; as if she had floated free from her body. Lucius was cumming, too, calling out words she couldn’t understand in her current state although she understood the emotion behind them.

They collapsed in each other’s arms, lips still meeting as they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, both too exhausted to do anything but cuddle.

‘That was absolutely amazing,’ Hermione admitted happily once she could talk again. ‘Thank you, Lucius.’

Lucius smiled appreciatively. ‘No, thank you, Hermione, for giving me the opportunity to experience something so wonderful with you. I always knew it would be that good between us. Now I know I did the right thing because I’m more certain than ever that I would never have been able to let you go.’ He squeezed her tightly. ‘I don’t want to let you go tonight. You don’t have to leave, do you?’

Hermione considered for a moment. She wanted to stay more than anything in the world, but she also knew it was wrong. Lucius was a married man and there was no excuse for their behaviour; even what they had just done was inexcusable really. But although she knew all that she really didn’t want to leave – not now, not when they had just found each other again. She decided she would leave it up to Lucius. If he didn’t care about his wife, neither would she.

‘What about Narcissa?’

Lucius looked at her in surprise. ‘What about her?’

‘You’re still married, aren’t you? I don’t think you should be shagging me when she’s still your wife.’

Lucius chuckled. ‘The same held true before but you never mentioned her then.’

‘You were a Death Eater,’ Hermione reminded him, ‘and if you remember I had just had firsthand experience of what you and your colleagues got up to during raids so I didn’t really expect anything else. But this is different – the war is over, the Death Eaters are gone and you’re just plain old Lucius Malfoy who is married to Narcissa . . . and we’ve just cheated on her.’

‘I don’t like you calling me plain or old,’ Lucius grumbled.

‘You know what I mean, though,’ Hermione retorted.

Lucius sighed. ‘Yes. I know what you mean. But you don’t have to worry. My delightful wife would probably applaud you for taking me off her hands. Had there been any affection left between us I would never have demanded the payment I did in the first place and I would certainly never have told you how much I wanted you this evening.

‘Narcissa and I became estranged many years ago and our sex life disappeared several years before that, but even if it hadn’t it would have been over by now. She hasn’t forgiven me for what I put our family through during the war. Despite holding the same views and her own sister being far worse than we ever were, she blames everything on me. She hasn’t told me officially yet but I think she’s considering leaving me and starting a new life away from the bad memories Malfoy Manor holds for her.

‘But even if she doesn’t it wouldn’t change anything. She’s my wife in name only, and unless you’re completely opposed to the idea I would really like you to stay with me tonight, Hermione. I haven’t even begun to pleasure you in the way I want to. I want to get to know every single inch of your beautiful body intimately, as I hope you might explore mine.’

‘All right, I’ll stay,’ Hermione agreed.

Lucius happily pulled her to him for another kiss that went on for several minutes.

‘You’re not going to regret this, I promise,’ he told her.

Hermione wasn’t sure whether she would or not; there was always the possibility of guilt eating her up later, but right now there was nothing she wanted more than to spend the night making love with Lucius.

‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she said.

He kissed her again.

‘I’ll get us some more champagne. We are celebrating, after all.’

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

‘I have to admit that I still don’t want to let you go,’ Lucius told Hermione as he held her tightly. ‘I thought last night would be enough but I’m not sure that even if I spent every night of the rest of my life with you, it would ever be enough.’

Hermione kissed him, then tried to pull herself from his arms.

‘That’s really sweet, Lucius, but I have to get up. I’ve got a job to get to and I need to go home and get changed first. I can’t go into work in the same clothes as yesterday,’ Hermione pointed out.

‘Do you need to go?’ Lucius asked a touch petulantly, redoubling his grip on her. ‘I’m really not ready to let go of you yet.’

‘Yes, I need to go. If I don’t I’ll lose my job and I don’t want that to happen. I’d never be able to afford the rent on my flat if I had no job and as much as I love my mum and dad I really don’t want to end up having to live with them again. They try, but they really don’t understand the wizarding world.’

‘I forgot you’re poor,’ Lucius replied without thinking.

‘You make it sound like a disease,’ Hermione accused, trying once again to pull away from him.

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ Lucius said soothingly. He tried changing the subject. ‘Do you like your job?’

‘I guess. I mean, it’s not really what I wanted to do but there aren’t any spare posts in the Magical Creatures Department at the moment so I’m working in Transport until a vacancy comes up. It’s okay. Percy Weasley’s my boss and he’s pretty good.’

‘Why on earth do you want to work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?’ Lucius asked. He seemed astonished at the idea.

‘Because I want to help house-elves.’

‘But they don’t want help. They’re perfectly happy as they are,’ Lucius suggested.

Hermione sat up and glared at him, annoyed at his condescending tone. ‘That’s because wizards like _you_ have spent thousands of years convincing them that’s how they should feel. It’s not right and it’s not fair and I intend to do something about it.’

‘It’s obviously an important issue for you. I hadn’t realised you were quite so driven,’ Lucius said mildly.

‘Well, I am. I’m fed up with wizards treating house-elves like slaves in the same way that Pure-bloods treat Muggle-borns as if they’re inferior when it’s all complete bollocks.’

‘Whoa, calm down, Nellie. There’s no need for you to get so upset; you’re preaching to the converted where Muggle-borns are concerned,’ Lucius said.

‘Yes, but you’ve still got house-elves, haven’t you?’ Hermione accused.

Lucius sighed. ‘I have, but I honestly couldn’t run a house as large as Malfoy Manor without them.’

‘You could pay them, though, and give them holidays and stuff . . . a decent standard of living.’

Somewhat grouchily, Lucius replied, ‘My house-elves are generally very well treated, I’ll have you know. They’ve been with the Malfoy family for generations and I suspect they would all have a major panic attack if I tried to offer them wages. House-elves don’t react very well to changes to the status quo. Just remember that when you’re trying to help them, Hermione.’

‘Will you try, though?’ Hermione asked hopefully.

Lucius stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed. ‘For you, yes. But I wouldn’t hold your breath, honestly.’ He saw Hermione look sceptical so he added, ‘You can come and see for yourself if you want. Actually, that’s why I was asking if you like your job.’

‘Why?’ Hermione looked back, intrigued.

‘Well, I was thinking of offering you a job, but if you were already doing something you loved, a lifelong vocation type of thing, then there wasn’t much point. But as you’re just slumming it in the Transport Department until something better comes along you might want to consider it.’ He stroked the inside of her thigh, fingers tickling her skin as they talked.

‘I’ve no intention of becoming a whore, not even for you, Lucius,’ Hermione said jokingly.

‘Really? That’s a shame because I would be more than happy to keep you fully employed,’ Lucius replied with a twinkle in his eye. ‘As it happens, that wasn’t the job I was going to offer. I was actually hoping that you might become my librarian.’

‘Your what?’

‘Librarian, as in looking after my library,’ Lucius told her smugly.

Hermione thumped him. ‘I know what a librarian is, thank you very much. What I don’t understand is why you want me to be one.’

‘I understand that you have a great deal of interest in books – at least you used to have, according to Draco. I have an extremely large library which is in desperate need of extensive cataloguing and I thought you might like to undertake the work. I would obviously pay you a salary at least commensurate with what you’re getting at the moment, probably better if your wages are as dismal as I suspect they are. Additionally, there will also be an opportunity for you to live at the manor if you wish, to save you having to travel every day.’

‘Are you serious?’ Hermione asked suspiciously. ‘This isn’t just some excuse to keep me near you, is it?’

‘I’m completely serious about this, Hermione. I’ve been meaning to sort it out for a few years but never got round to it; then it occurred to me that it might be your sort of thing. I warn you now that it’s a massive project, though. The collection is extensive and varied so there will be a lot of cataloguing before you can put it into some sensible sort of order. There’s probably at least a year’s worth of work, maybe more just completing that part of the job. Of course, you’re welcome to come and see the library first to see if it’s something you might be interested in doing. I’d be happy to show you around the rest of the manor at the same time. Keeping you near me would be a bonus.’ He winked at her.

‘Okay, I’ll come and look at your library and see if I think I can do anything with it. I’m not making any promises, though.’

Lucius appeared pleased with her response. Eagerly he said, ‘Good. When can you come? I suppose today is too much to hope for?’

‘Yes, it is. I still need to go to work.’ Hermione considered for a few seconds. ‘How about I come down to Malfoy Manor on Thursday or maybe Friday? I can see whether it will suit, with a view to starting work at the weekend if it does.’

‘You can definitely come down on Thursday – the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned. There’s no way you’ll be working at the weekend, though. I don’t allow any of that,’ Lucius said mock-sternly.

‘It’s a bit far for me to go just to come back to London for the weekend and then have to go back to Malfoy Manor on Monday,’ Hermione pointed out.

Lucius looked confused. ‘Who said anything about you going home for the weekend? There are plenty of interesting things to do at the manor, you know. I’m sure you won’t get bored, and I’ll definitely be happy to have you there.’

‘Will Narcissa be in attendance?’ Hermione asked.

‘Yes. You’ll be able to talk to her about the project. I expect she’ll have a few ideas, she usually does. Then I’m sure you’ll soon realise I’m telling the truth about our relationship. So, will you come down on Thursday?’

Hermione nodded. ‘I’ll see if I can get the time off. I have to admit it does sound more interesting than working in transport.’

‘There are a lot of extremely old tomes that you might want to study,’ Lucius suggested. ‘There aren’t many dealing with the Dark Arts these days, though. I had to get rid of most of them after Voldemort was killed, but there are probably a couple still lurking on the shelves somewhere that I missed during my cull. As I said, there are so many books I can’t keep track of them, especially when they aren’t stored in any logical order.’

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ Hermione admitted. ‘But now I need to go home and get ready for work. I’ll send you an owl to tell you what day I’m coming down.’

She kissed Lucius, then slid out of bed before he could grab hold of her again. He watched her avidly as she got dressed.

‘I’m going to try one more time to lure you back to bed,’ he said hopefully.

Hermione shook her head with a smile. ‘Never going to happen – I’ve got my bra on now. I’m ready for work. Anyway, if I wait any longer I’m going to be late.’ She walked back to the bed buttoning up her blouse and bent down to kiss him again. ‘I’ll see you later in the week.’

Lucius wrapped his arms around her, his mouth covering hers.

‘I can’t wait to see you again. Thursday can’t come quick enough for me,’ he admitted as he released her. 

‘I’m only coming to see the library,’ Hermione reminded him.

Lucius winked. ‘We’ll see about that.’

‘I have to go.’ Hermione walked to the door and waved before opening it.

‘Missing you already,’ Lucius told her.

Hermione shook her head, but she was smiling.

‘Bye, then.’

‘Just leave if you’re going,’ Lucius told her mock grumpily. ‘Otherwise, I’m going to kidnap you and keep you here in my bed.’

‘Thursday,’ Hermione said.

‘Thursday,’ Lucius agreed.


	5. Five

Hermione had never seen so many books outside of a real library. Although Lucius had tried to give some idea of the scale of work ahead of her, she hadn’t really taken it in. Now she was looking at a room easily the size of a ballroom, staring around at shelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

They weren’t just around the edge, either. One whole side of the room was dedicated to stacks of bookshelves that were groaning under the weight of some of the massive tomes, while the other side housed comfortable chairs and reading tables, all facing towards the French windows that revealed the most beautiful garden she had ever seen.

There was even a minstrel’s gallery overlooking the whole room, with yet more bookshelves and a couple of comfy chairs. Lucius had taken her up there to allow her to survey the whole of her new domain – if she decided to take the job. Hermione could feel a small shiver of delight run up her spine at the thought of working with all those precious books.

Lucius was right: it was her ideal job, even putting aside any other reasons she might have for wanting to spend time at Malfoy Manor; the house and gardens were enough in themselves for her to consider accepting. But the library was magnificent and even Madam Pince, the Hogwarts School Librarian, would be in heaven spending her time sorting out something as immense and complex as this, Hermione thought.

‘What do you think?’ Lucius asked eagerly.

‘I’m actually sort of flabbergasted,’ Hermione admitted. ‘I know you said you had a lot of books but this is completely crazy. You must have nearly as many as Hogwarts does.’

Lucius chuckled richly. ‘The Malfoys have always been big readers. We’ve been collecting books since the fifteenth century. Obviously, we’re hoarders, too.’

‘I like it up here,’ Hermione said, indicating the gallery. ‘It’s a comfortable little space, good for tucking yourself away and reading when you don’t want to be diverted by the majesty of the gardens.’

‘You could make it your base of operations. We can soon get a desk brought up here,’ Lucius suggested.

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, I’ll need to work down there. I need to be in the thick of it, but this would be a good retreat during break times.’

She pointed at one of the larger reading tables, not noticing Lucius’ smile, caught up as she was in her thoughts about where she was going to start and how she was going to arrange the work. Hermione looked back at Lucius, realising that she had already decided to take the job.

‘So have I managed to convince you it’s worth taking on or should I try to sell you the other benefits of moving into Malfoy Manor?’ he asked.

‘Are there more benefits?’ Hermione smiled.

Lucius moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

‘There is one major obvious attraction to keep you here,’ he answered quietly into her hair as his hard body pressed against hers.

Hermione felt a little uncomfortable being in Lucius’ embrace knowing that Narcissa was somewhere in the house. She knew what Lucius had told her about his marriage but that was only one side, and until she got confirmation that it was true she needed to keep away from him. The last thing she wanted was Narcissa to turn up now and see them like this, especially if Lucius hadn’t been entirely truthful with her.

She pulled out of his arms and headed for the stairs to return back to the library itself. Lucius followed trying to hide his disappointment.

‘Would you like to see the gardens in more detail? It’s a lovely day out there and not too cold. The wind has dropped considerably so it should be perfect for wandering, and we’ve got time before it begins to get dark. You’ll get to see the outside of the manor in all its grandeur as well,’ Lucius offered.

Hermione smiled at him again. ‘Why not? As you say, it’s a lovely day and the gardens do look amazing.’

‘They look even better in the summer when all the flowers are in bloom,’ Lucius said.

She stopped in the middle of the room and looked out of the window, down the vast expanse of lawn to a small lake with a large fountain in the middle.

‘It is idyllic here, always very quiet and peaceful,’ Lucius told her.

‘I assume Malfoy Manor is hidden from Muggles, is it?’ Hermione asked interestedly as they made their way into the garden and down towards the lake.

Lucius nodded. ‘There have been a lot of spells placed upon it to repel Muggles from coming anywhere near. Fortunately, we’re in the middle of a rural area so to them it just looks like another set of fields. No one’s ever questioned why it isn’t farmed or who actually owns it; all the local farmers just assume that it belongs to one of the others. We haven’t exactly confunded people, just made them forget it’s here unless they come upon it by accident, and then the repelling charms kick in so they soon leave again.

‘There’s about six acres of land in total, stretching from the woods over there, then down towards the village in that direction. You can just see the church steeple from here.’ Lucius indicated the directions as he spoke. ‘Past the garden wall in that direction is common land – good for riding as it doesn’t interfere with any of the farmers’ crops. The only bit of the grounds that leads to the road is the driveway at the front of the house, although there is quite a long tree-lined avenue before you get there.’

He turned and looked back at the house. ‘The house itself dates from the fifteenth century, with modifications added in the eighteenth century. The oldest part is that section at the end, the bit with all the ornate chimney pots and the timber fronting. Lucius pointed at it, proudly. There are ten formal bedrooms plus the nursery and servants’ quarters at the top of the house plus various studies, drawing rooms, and even a small ballroom, although we rarely use it for its intended purpose.

‘On the other side is the newest addition to the house, the glasshouse, which was added by my great grandfather — those Victorians loved their hothouses with all their exotic plants. Personally, I’d be happy to get rid of them all but I’m told they’re a delightful feature, and I suppose it does make for an agreeable place to take tea.’

‘This is a very pleasant spot,’ Hermione remarked. ‘I love the sound the fountain makes. I’ve always loved the sound of running water. It would be lovely to sit here and paint in the summer.’

‘Are you an artist, then?’ Lucius asked interestedly.

Hermione shrugged. ‘No, not really. I do attempt it every so often but I don’t think I’ll be displaying my paintings any time soon. It’s more of a relaxation thing than serious art.’

‘Well, we have several excellent spots for painting or even just relaxing. Over there are the rose garden and the walled herb garden, both of which come into their own during the summer. Try the herb garden in the evening; the scent of lavender and lemon balm on the hot evening breeze is truly delightful.

‘The rose garden, along with this area around the lake, was part of a design by the famous landscape gardener Lancelot Brown, better known by his nickname, Capability. He was a wizard but spent most of his life working for Muggles — he just loved creating garden designs and didn’t care who he worked for. He laid out designs for the whole estate but then got into an argument with one of my ancestors, no doubt because of his willingness to work for Muggles; as you know until now none of my family was ever open to interacting with those who weren’t at the very least Half-blood.

‘Brown left, having completed only the rose garden and the lake area. It’s a shame, really. I would love to have seen what the manor grounds would have looked like completely rebuilt to his original plans. I have occasionally considered getting someone in to complete the work he started but I have to admit the idea of the upheaval is a little off-putting, particularly when the garden is already so magnificent.’

‘Perhaps you could just do a small area to start with? Somewhere out of the way where you wouldn’t see the work being done,’ Hermione suggested. ‘There’s no reason to tear up the whole garden but there are probably small areas that would benefit from some work, aren’t there?’

Lucius considered her words for a while. ‘You might be right. Are you interested in garden design at all? You could take on the project in your spare time if you want.’

Hermione shook her head. ‘I like looking at gardens not working in them. Anyway, I think I’m going to be a bit too busy with that library of yours to think about re-landscaping your garden.’

‘So you are going to come and work for me, then?’ Lucius sounded pleased.

‘I think so. It’s certainly a more interesting prospect than staying at the Ministry, although don’t think that means I’ve given up my desire to help house-elves. That reminds me, you said you would talk to yours — have you done it yet?’ Hermione asked.

Lucius shook his head. ‘No, not yet. I thought I’d wait until you settled in and see how things work around here. Then, maybe, you can assist me in trying to convince them of the changes you suggested. I still don’t think it will work but we can certainly try.’

He looked back towards the manor, seeming to gauge something, then took Hermione’s arm and propelled her towards a path that ran around the building.

‘Time for you to see the glasshouse. It’s time for tea and I know Narcissa wants to talk to you about the library and your plans for it.’

‘I haven’t got any plans,’ Hermione said, suddenly panicked. ‘I’ve literally only just decided to take the job. I haven’t had a chance to give any thought as to what I’m actually going to do.’

‘I saw the look in your eyes while you were looking around. I could see that you were already planning how you would undertake the task,’ Lucius countered.

Hermione blushed. ‘Well, a little bit, I suppose. But I haven’t got a formal plan or anything.’

Lucius chuckled. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Narcissa will be interested in whatever you have to tell her and she’ll give you some ideas as well. She’s always full of good ones.’    

Hermione wasn’t sure whether Lucius was being sarcastic so she sensibly said nothing as she followed him around the house until they reached the glasshouse.

It had the perfect name, Hermione thought; the huge and elaborate glass structure was exploding with lush, verdant greenery and exotic hothouse blooms, reminding her of a jungle. She stepped inside, expecting to be overwhelmed by heat and humidity, but actually it was relatively cool, particularly once they reached the centre where a large glass-topped wicker table was surrounded by comfortable-looking sofas and chairs; a little oasis in the centre of a rainforest.

Narcissa was already there, sitting prettily in one of the armchairs, dressed casually in an expensive pale cream linen dress. There wasn’t a crease in sight, Hermione realised a little bitterly. She was sipping tea from a bone china cup and she smiled as Lucius and Hermione joined her.

‘Was Lucius trying to tempt you into the job by showing you the gardens?’ she asked.

She put her cup back on the saucer then placed both on the table and rose gracefully, holding out her hand to take Hermione’s.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Hermione — you don’t mind if I call you Hermione, do you? —and in better circumstances this time, fortunately.’

‘Your house and gardens are truly magnificent,’ Hermione told her honestly.

She sat down on a sofa indicated by Narcissa. Lucius took another of the chairs and settled back easily as he watched the two women talk.

‘It’s Malfoy property. The Black estate isn’t anywhere near as grand nor is it quite so rural,’ Narcissa said. Hermione wasn’t sure if she could detect a slight tone in her voice.

‘Of course. Well, it’s amazing, anyway — as is this conservatory. The plants are beautiful, so lush and vibrant,’ Hermione told her.

‘I love it in here,’ Narcissa confided. ‘Lucius isn’t bothered, though. He’s not really into plants and stuff, are you, dear?’

Lucius gave a small shrug. ‘I don’t mind as long as I don’t have to do anything with them. It’s a pleasant enough place to take tea.’

‘Of course, how rude of me. I apologise, Hermione. Would you like some tea? It’s afternoon blend, although I can always ask one of the house-elves to bring you something else if it’s not to your taste.’

Narcissa reverted to playing the perfect hostess and indicated the large teapot that matched the rest of the tea service.

‘That will be fine, thank you, Mrs Malfoy,’ Hermione replied.

Narcissa gave a gentle laugh. ‘Please, call me Narcissa. Mrs Malfoy always makes me think of Lucius’ mother.’ She passed Hermione a cup and saucer then began to pour a cup for Lucius. ‘Help yourself to milk and sugar.’

Hermione put the cup and saucer down on the table and leant across to retrieve the milk jug. She added a small amount to her cup, stirring it with a silver teaspoon that she retrieved from a pile on the tray.

Narcissa clicked her fingers and a house-elf appeared. Hermione stared at it, surprised at how well-cared-for and happy it looked. She remembered that Dobby had once been one of the Malfoys’ house-elves; his bad treatment by the family, as described to her by Harry, had been one of the reasons she had become interested in house-elf rights in the first place.

‘We’ll have the sandwiches now, please, Jorry, and could you arrange for some more tea as well?’ Narcissa asked mildly.

The house-elf gave a small bow and disappeared with a pop.

‘I told you we treat our house-elves with respect,’ Lucius told Hermione quietly. He had seen her look of surprise. ‘I have to admit we haven’t always been quite so good — I know you remember poor Dobby. But we really have tried to improve our behaviour over the last few years and that includes the way we treat our servants.’

The little house-elf reappeared carrying a china cake stand that contained fingers of freshly cut sandwiches. Hermione couldn’t help feeling that she was attending an extremely posh afternoon tea like those held in some of the more upscale Muggle hotels.

Narcissa held out a small plate and Hermione took it.

‘We have a selection of sandwiches so hopefully, there will be something to your taste. Jorry, what have you prepared for us today?’

Hermione realised the house-elf was still there. It looked proudly at the three humans as it recited the contents of the sandwiches, clearly learned by rote.

‘Egg and cress and salmon and cucumber, both on white bread; Wiltshire ham and English mustard and rare roast beef and horseradish on wholemeal bread; and finally, Lyburn’s Winchester cheese with homemade pickle chutney on carrot bread, Mistress.’

‘They all sound extremely tempting,’ Lucius said with a smile. ‘Hermione, you really must try the cheese, it’s locally made and it’s quite excellent. It’s won all sorts of awards, as has the ham.’

‘They all sound really good,’ Hermione admitted, realising she was starving as she joined the others in adding sandwiches to her plate.

‘Another round of each, please, Jorry. I think we’re going to get through them this afternoon,’ Narcissa commanded the house-elf with a smile.

‘So has Lucius managed to convince you to take on the mammoth task that is rearranging the library?’ she asked interestedly once they were settled into eating and drinking.

Hermione swallowed the bite of sandwich she was eating before answering.

‘I think so. It certainly appeals to me far more than my current job, and the surroundings couldn’t really be any better. It will be a huge task, though. Lucius told me there were a lot of books but I didn’t comprehend quite how many there were until I saw the library — it is awe-inspiring.’

Narcissa gave Hermione another smile. ‘I’ve no doubt you’ll do a good job. Lucius is confident of your abilities.’

Hermione wasn’t sure whether yet again there was some undertone to Narcissa’s words, and for a moment she wondered whether the woman knew about what had happened between her and Lucius. She decided she was just being paranoid and reading things into Narcissa’s behaviour that weren’t really there. After all, if Lucius was telling the truth, Narcissa was unlikely to be bothered about anything they may have done together.

‘I’m not a professional librarian,’ Hermione replied. ‘I just love books and spent most of my time at school in the Hogwarts Library.’

‘Yes, Draco mentioned something about you living in the Library. He was the one who originally suggested you for the job,’ Narcissa said. She indicated the cake stand again, which now contained several varieties of scone. ‘Scone, Hermione? There’s clotted cream and two types of jam, strawberry and raspberry – both homemade locally, of course.’

Hermione looked at Narcissa with surprise. She had assumed Lucius had dreamt the job up as a way to get her to spend more time with him. She took a plain scone from the stand and cut it in half, then added a dollop of cream and some raspberry jam to each half.

‘Really? I wasn’t aware of that,’ she admitted.

‘Oh yes. He was quite effusive about you, actually.’ Narcissa shot a glance at both Hermione and Lucius, then smiled wickedly. ‘I think he’s got a bit of a thing about you, Hermione. It appears you’re a real lure for the Malfoys.’

Hermione had a feeling that Narcissa would like to have added ‘ _considering the fact that you’re a Mudblood_ ’ but she just smiled and took another sip of her tea.

‘Well, I hope I can live up to everyone’s expectation of me. It’s certainly going to be a challenge.’

‘One I expect you’ll surpass beautifully,’ Narcissa assured her. She took a bite of her own scone. ‘I know you’ve only had a quick look so far, but have you got any ideas about what you want to do?’

Lucius stretched loudly, then put his teacup back on the table and stood.

‘I’ve got some work to do so I’ll leave you two to discuss the finer points of library cataloguing.’ He stared at Hermione, blatantly ignoring Narcissa which made Hermione cringe a little. ‘I’ll see you later, Hermione — drinks before dinner, okay?’

Hermione nodded, not sure what else to do.

‘Don’t you want any cake? I was just about to get Jorry to serve them,’ Narcissa said.

Lucius shook his head. ‘I’ve had enough for the time being. I’ll see you girls later. I’m sure you can gossip far more effectively without me here.’

Hermione watched him leave, then looked around the room once more. A display of stunning purple and orange orchids caught her eye.

‘Orchids are a favourite of mine,’ Narcissa told her, following her gaze. ‘The purple ones are Vanda, the orange is a Cymbidium hybrid.’

‘They’re beautiful,’ Hermione said.

She suddenly felt quite awkward without Lucius there to bridge the gap and was aware of Narcissa’s gimlet stare. The woman seemed to be sizing her up.

‘They take a lot of work but I think their beauty makes it worthwhile. I’m lucky that one of the house-elves has a real touch with them otherwise my displays wouldn’t be anywhere near as good.’ She paused for a moment then added, ‘Would you like some cake, Hermione?’

Hermione waved her hand to indicate no. She wanted to leave but had no desire to be rude, and she suspected Narcissa hadn’t finished talking to her yet.

‘I’ve had enough, thank you, Narcissa. The sandwiches were very tasty, and those scones were so light that I ate more than I should have. I wouldn’t say no to another cup of tea, though.’

She held out her cup and saucer as Narcissa lifted the teapot, pouring both Hermione and herself another cup of tea. Once they were settled again Narcissa looked pointedly at Hermione.

‘So tell me your initial thoughts about the library,’ she requested.

Hermione shrugged. ‘I didn’t really have time to formulate any specific plans as we didn’t spend that long in the library and I only looked at a fraction of the books. From what I’ve seen of the piles of books all over the room I guess the logical place to start would be to establish what you have. Once that’s done I can get an idea of the sort of sections I should be creating, then I can start the formal cataloguing. Lucius told me that you have some ideas. I would obviously be happy to follow your lead on anything you want to do.’

Narcissa waved her hand dismissively. ‘I’m happy for you to do whatever you want as I don’t really have any particular investment in the library, although I did once start making a list of the books in there if it will help you. You seem to know what you’re doing so I’m sure it will all come together eventually.’

‘I’ll probably speak to Madam Pince at Hogwarts,’ Hermione admitted. ‘I’m sure she’ll be able to point me in the best direction to start, although your list will definitely help. It does seem a slightly daunting task at the moment. I’m excited by it but there’s going to be such a lot of hard work to get it finished.’

‘You won’t be working all the time, though,’ Narcissa pointed out.

Hermione sipped her tea. ‘No. Lucius has already told me I’m not allowed to work weekends, although to be honest, I think that might change once I actually get going. I do have a tendency to become a little focussed on what I’m doing to the exclusion of everything else.’

‘I doubt Lucius will allow you become too consumed, although it’s good for him to have a project to work on, too. He has been at something of a loose end recently,’ Narcissa said musingly.

Hermione knew without asking that Narcissa was referring to his lack of employment for the cause of Voldemort. With him gone and the other Death Eaters dead or in prison, Lucius probably had a lot more free time than when the Dark wizard had been alive.

‘I’m sure you’ll be able to keep him fully occupied,’ Narcissa added with another small smile.

Once again Hermione could feel the undertone and it made her feel uncomfortable, although yet again it could just be her own guilt and anxiety projecting onto Narcissa’s words.

‘Are you sleeping with my husband, Hermione?’ Narcissa asked suddenly. There was no accusation in the words; they had come out as easily as if the older woman had just asked her if she wanted another cup of tea.

Hermione stared at her in shock unable to decide what to say. She felt her face flushing which she knew gave away the truth but she couldn’t help her automatic response.

‘No. I mean—’ She broke off and took another sip of her tea to try to calm down.

Narcissa watched her placidly, seemingly unaware of the anguish she had just caused.

‘Don’t get me wrong, Hermione, I don’t mind if you are,’ she said as Hermione continued to stare at her in astonishment. ‘Lucius and I haven’t had that sort of relationship for years — since before Draco went to Hogwarts, actually. And I know he’s not a monk so I’m sure he hasn’t stayed celibate all these years. I also know he’s been interested in you for some time — several years, probably—’

At these words a look crossed her face that Hermione was certain was disgust. Once again she remembered how she had thought Narcissa wanted to comment on her blood status. The woman was trying hard not to show it but she obviously wasn’t happy about Hermione being Muggle-born.

‘As I said, I really don’t mind. When Lucius started banging on about bringing you here it was pretty obvious what he was hoping for. He’s a handsome man; if you like the type. I can understand why you might find him attractive and I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you ended up between the sheets with him.’

Hermione opened her mouth to tell Narcissa that she had no intention of doing anything with Lucius but Narcissa held her hand up to stop her.

‘Once again, I tell you that I don’t mind if you want to have a relationship with him, Hermione. The only thing that worries me is that you’re so young. Maybe you know what you want or you think you do. I remember being your age and being certain that I knew exactly what I wanted in life. I was completely wrong as it turned out, but no one could have told me that at the time because I thought I knew better than everyone else.’

Narcissa stopped talking and poured herself another cup of tea as if giving herself time to order her thoughts before she continued. She waved the teapot at Hermione, who shook her head, waiting on tenterhooks for the older woman to continue.

‘If you want to be with Lucius then fine, do it by all means, but make sure it’s out in the open. Don’t creep around having an affair that no one knows about. I told you earlier that Draco admires you. Actually, I think he fancies you a lot and was hoping that if you came to work here it might give him a chance to woo you.

‘I’ll be honest, Hermione, I’m not ecstatic about Draco’s choice. You seem like a nice girl and you’re pretty but I had hoped for a slightly more advantageous match for my son, someone not — well—’

‘Muggle-born, you mean,’ Hermione said tersely, trying to keep the anger from her voice.

Narcissa shrugged as if that explained everything.

Her voice was slightly cooler now. ‘I just don’t want you mucking my son around, Hermione. If it’s definitely Lucius you’re interested in then I want you to let Draco know immediately so he can stop chasing after you and move on. But if there’s any possibility that you’re interested in Draco, you need to distance yourself from Lucius completely and give my son a chance to prove himself to you. I don’t want my husband and son fighting over the same woman and ruining their relationship with each other. You are not _that_ special.’     

‘If you’d rather I didn’t take the job I’ll tell Lucius I’m not going to come. I’m not trying to cause an argument in your family,’ Hermione said honestly.

She suddenly felt misunderstood and bullied by Narcissa and she wasn’t at all sure that the woman really meant what she was saying about Lucius. Maybe Narcissa knew something had happened between them and was jealous that her husband was more interested in her than in his wife. Perhaps she should just go, should give up the chance of the job of a lifetime, and leave Lucius and Narcissa to their games.

‘I wasn’t saying that. I’m just telling you to make a choice and stick with it,’ Narcissa retorted. ‘I suspect now you’re thinking of running away, but that would be a really stupid move for you if you’re as interested in the library as you indicated previously.

‘I’ve no idea what you’re doing at the moment but I assume it’s not anything particularly inspiring otherwise Lucius would never have lured you here in the first place — unless the job isn’t the reason you came.’ Hermione made to protest at this but Narcissa waved her hand to stop her talking. ‘Okay, so you wanted the job. So why walk away now, when it’s quite clearly yours for the taking? Just decide which way you’re going to go and make sure everyone knows.’

Hermione sat in silence for a long time considering what Narcissa had told her. Now that she was looking at it less emotionally she realised that the older woman wasn’t really trying to bully her. She wasn’t trying to force her away from Lucius, just asking her to make a choice between the two men in her life. No wonder Narcissa wasn’t happy with her. Hermione wouldn’t be either if she was on the verge of losing the two most important people in her life to another woman.

She had intended to say nothing, to go away and think it over, to consider properly what a relationship with either of the Malfoy males could mean, especially with Draco. Until Narcissa had mentioned it he would never have even crossed her mind as a serious contender for a relationship, but—

‘It would be Lucius.’ Hermione looked surprised that she had spoken, but having done so she now felt she had to explain. ‘Draco and I never got on at school so I never had the chance to really get to know him. I don’t feel anything in any way romantic for your son, and to be honest I don’t think I ever will. But Lucius . . . you know he rescued me when I was captured by Death Eaters . . . .’ Her voice trailed off, not sure how to explain.

Narcissa looked far more relieved than Hermione had expected.

‘I always wondered why he saved you. I mean, I know it was because he fancied you, obviously, but it was such a bold move, you being Muggle-born and him still working for the Dark Lord.’

Although she had no idea why Hermione suddenly had the urge to tell Narcissa the truth; to unburden herself of the secret she had kept hidden from everyone for so long.

‘He only did it because I paid him to,’ she admitted.

Narcissa looked momentarily confused. ‘You paid him? What on earth did you give him? He has no need for money . . . .’ A look of understanding suddenly crossed her face as she realised. ‘Ah, you gave him your body, didn’t you?’

Hermione nodded not looking at Narcissa, instead staring into the teacup she was holding.

‘Well, I have to give him ten out of ten for opportunism during a time of crisis,’ Narcissa said with a small, cold chuckle.

‘It was awful,’ Hermione said dully, remembering the night she had been abducted. ‘The Death Eaters were doing awful things to the people they had captured, torture and worse . . . sexual things. It was horrible. Lucius agreed to help me escape if I did something for him but when I came round from being Stunned I was in a horrible dark prison waiting to be used as bait against the Order of the Phoenix. At first, Lucius told me he couldn’t help me, but then he changed his mind.’

‘When you agreed to have sex with him,’ Narcissa said knowingly.

Hermione nodded. ‘But even then I thought he was lying because he left me again. He rescued me at the last minute. He risked everything to do so, even put you and Draco in danger, I think.’ She stared at Narcissa, wanting her to know she was being sincere. ‘I honestly had no idea that he was interested in me beyond what he could get as payment for my escape, not until after the trial.’

‘You helped him escape prison, Hermione. Why did you do that after what he had done to you if you believed him to be a liar and an opportunist?’ Narcissa asked.

Hermione shrugged. ‘When we were on the run — me, Harry and Ron — we broke into your sister’s vault in Gringotts.’

Narcissa looked surprised. ‘You did? Bella always said you had but no one believed her.’

‘We didn’t go there until after we escaped from Malfoy Manor. We were looking for one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Because of the way she acted when she saw the sword, Harry was certain Bellatrix was keeping one of them in her vault, along with what she thought was the real sword of Godric Gryffindor, which she assumed we had stolen. She never knew the one Professor Snape had put in there was fake. We always had the real sword. Griphook, the goblin who was there that night, lied to her because Harry asked him to. The sword was the only thing we knew of that could destroy the Horcruxes and we couldn’t risk losing it.

‘But trying to get out of Gringotts afterwards was a complete nightmare. We nearly died several times and ended up on the back of the dragon that was being kept captive down in the vaults. Between that escape and the other close shaves we had, I realised that Lucius really had risked so much for me, especially considering his closeness to Voldemort, that I probably hadn’t paid him anywhere near enough. The only thing I could do was to help him at the trial.’

‘So this adoration for Lucius is based purely on the payment and your guilt.’ Narcissa shook her head. ‘That’s not a thing to base life decisions on, Hermione, honestly. Take it from someone with a bit more experience than you.’

‘I saw him after the trial and I knew then that I wanted him as much as he wanted me . . . but he’s married,’ Hermione admitted in a small voice.

‘Although that isn’t really a problem, as I explained earlier,’ Narcissa pointed out.

‘But I didn’t know that when Lucius offered me the job. He told me it wouldn’t be a problem, that you would probably be grateful to me for taking him off your hands — but men lie, don’t they? And Lucius had lied to me before so I couldn’t take his word for it. When I came here to look at the library I really was only doing it with the view to taking the job and nothing else, whatever Lucius may have been hoping.

‘When you told me about Draco I was stunned. As I said, we never got on at school so the idea that he admired me enough to suggest me for the job was almost unbelievable. You telling me that he fancies me is even more so. I honestly thought Lucius had created the job in an attempt to get me closer to him and I was all prepared to turn it down, despite the crappy job I’m doing at the moment . . . then I saw the library. I can’t imagine anyone with an interest in books not wanting to tackle it, and for me, that was suddenly enough.’

Narcissa considered Hermione’s words for several long seconds, then replied, ‘I have to admit that given the choice I would much prefer you took Lucius rather than Draco, and it’s fairly gratifying to think that you’ll be keeping him entertained here so he won’t have to go elsewhere to find his fun and I won’t hear all sorts of dreadful rumours from my friends about his behaviour. Just make sure that you make it clear to Draco you’re not interested. I don’t want him thinking he’s got a chance with you.’

‘I will,’ Hermione promised, glad that she and Narcissa had finally come to some sort of understanding — and better still, one that allowed her to continue her relationship with Lucius. ‘If you don’t mind I might go back to the library and start looking at the books. I assume there’s a bit of time before dinner?’

Narcissa looked at her watch. ‘Dinner is at eight, so you’ve got plenty of time. I’ll walk with you and show you the way from here. I can dig out that list for you as well.’ She stood up.

Hermione stood, too. ‘Thank you for your help, Narcissa. I really appreciate it.’

‘I’m sure everything’s going to work out just fine, Hermione,’ Narcissa said, sounding satisfied.


	6. Six

‘How’s it going, Hermione?’

Lucius had joined Hermione in the library, where she was currently hidden behind a huge pile of books.

She put down her quill and turned to look at him with a smile.

‘Pretty good, I think. I’ve finished listing one whole bookcase; that one over there,’ she told him, pointing in the direction of said bookcase. ‘I know it’s only a tiny amount when you consider the whole library, but now I’ve got the first one done it’s almost like it’s downhill all the way from here.’

‘Have you found anything interesting yet?’ Lucius asked.

Hermione smiled again. ‘There are lots of interesting books in here, Lucius. You know that.’

‘I do. I was just wondering what you had come across so far.’ He smiled. ‘Anything that particularly stirs your fancy?’

She shrugged. ‘It’s been a real mixed bag so far. There was one Dark Arts book on potion-making — I’ve put it on the table over there in case it’s one you want to get rid of. I know you were divesting yourself of anything that might tie you to your dubious past.’

Hermione moved past Lucius to the table she had mentioned and pointed to the large pale-coloured book as he followed her.

She wrinkled her nose expressively and gave a quick shudder. ‘I had a quick flick through it but it’s not very nice. I can’t imagine ever needing any of the potions in there. Also, I’ve no idea what the cover is made of but it feels really nasty.’

‘Probably skin of some sort,’ Lucius told her as he examined the cover without touching it. ‘A lot of them were — not always human, though; it depended on what the book was about. This looks like it could have been human, although it might have been house-elf. They were a very popular choice at one time because there were so many of them and they were easily accessible and, of course, no one really noticed if a house-elf disappeared.’

Hermione’s face looked horror-struck and she stepped back as if to get away from the dreadful tome. ‘That’s horrible!’

Lucius shrugged as he picked the book up and began leafing through it. ‘Now you can see how far we’ve come, Hermione. House-elves today might not always have the sort of life you dream about for them but it’s far better than it used to be. I’ve no doubt there are still some of the older families who treat their elves as badly as we used to, but hopefully they’re in the minority and will continue to decrease over the years as new owners come along with a slightly better attitude. Even our elves will get used to the ideas you’ve mentioned to them in due course, with occasional gentle reminders. It’ll just take a while.’

‘You don’t think this was one of the Malfoys’ house-elves, was it?’ Hermione asked warily.

Lucius shook his head as he flicked back to the beginning of the book.

‘No, definitely not. We didn’t write it, just purchased it, and the binding would already have been on there. My ancestors wouldn’t have been bothered about the outside, only what dark deeds lurked on the inside.’ He wrinkled his nose as he closed the book. ‘Leave it there, along with any others you come across, and once you’ve collected a pile I’ll get rid of them. Borgin and Burkes still purchase Dark Arts material — they still have a few customers who are interested, especially in old collectable stuff like this.’

He replaced the book on the table and moved towards Hermione, wrapping his arms around her waist.

‘Have you found anything more . . . exciting yet?’

Hermione stared at him. ‘What do you mean, more exciting?’

‘Well, there are some interesting collections of erotica in here,’ Lucius replied.

‘I haven’t found anything like that at all yet. I’ve been working through Narcissa’s list and there’s nothing like that mentioned on it.’

Lucius made a soft snorting noise as if to suggest that he wasn’t surprised, and kissed Hermione’s nose before releasing her and springing away across the library in search of something. A few minutes later he returned to another reading table and laid a large and extremely old-looking folder on it. He blew gently on the folder to remove the light layer of dust before untying the ribbons that held it together and opened it to reveal a stack of parchments. Hermione left the books she had gone back to sorting and went to join him.

‘The library contains a considerable amount of erotic material,’ Lucius told her without a trace of embarrassment. ‘There are sexually explicit novels and books full of the most interesting ideas scattered here and there, but there are also images — both my grandfather, Lucian and his father, Septimus, were extremely interested in anything to do with sexuality.’

He lifted the first of the old parchments, which contained a finely drawn image of a man and woman embracing. The couple were both naked.

‘Saucy,’ Hermione said, smirking, as Lucius passed the illustration to her. She studied the fine artwork for a couple of seconds, considering how old the drawings were likely to be, before placing it on the table next to the folder.

‘That one’s quite tame but there are some much more interesting ones,’ Lucius told her. ‘This one, for instance.’

He passed Hermione the next parchment with a shark-like grin, his gaze raking over her as she studied the illustration. This one contained the same naked couple, obviously part of a series on a theme. In this picture the woman was on her knees, her mouth wrapped around the man’s cock.

Hermione couldn’t help but think about her doing the same thing to Lucius, particularly when he was standing so close to her, his crisp citrus aftershave mixing with the more primal scent of him that always aroused her so much; was arousing her now. It had suddenly got awfully warm in the library.

‘I think this one appeals to me most at the moment,’ Lucius said, passing the third parchment Hermione’s way, his low voice huskier now.

Their fingers brushed against each other as she took it from him, dropping the other as she did so, and Hermione sucked in a breath as small electric shocks transferred themselves to her skin. Wondering what Lucius found so appealing she stared down at the illustration and felt the flush of heat spreading not just in her face but throughout her body. The beautifully sketched drawing made her stomach swirl and a dull throb of need began deep inside her.

‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ Lucius asked quietly.

He was standing behind her now, his arms wrapped around her waist as he first, kissed her hair, then moved it out of the way and began to attack the nape of her neck. Hermione thought her legs were going to give way as a wave of desire rushed through her.

‘Yes,’ she whispered.

‘Does it arouse you?’ Lucius enquired, his voice now even lower, making Hermione shiver.   

‘Very much so.’ Hermione’s voice was as soft as his.

Lucius hugged her more tightly. ‘I want to do that to you, Hermione. I want to do it right now.’

Hermione looked at the illustration once more, imagining Lucius going down on her in the way the illustrated man was doing to the woman. Another flare of desire set off the aching throb again, more strongly this time.

‘What do you think?’ he asked. ‘Can I do that to you now?’

Hermione was suddenly back in the room again at his words, as if she had broken out of a trance.

‘You want to do it here?’ she asked sounding a little apprehensive.

Lucius nodded and grinned lecherously. ‘There’s another table over there, not yet being utilised. Just the right height, I would have said.’

‘But what if someone sees us?’

Hermione meant Narcissa but didn’t want to say her name just in case it angered Lucius. Whilst his wife had been as good as her word and didn’t seem to care at all what she and Lucius got up to, Hermione didn’t want to rub it in her face. The library was a little too open with all its windows and its prominent position in the house, and Narcissa did often come to visit her. Hermione couldn’t even begin to imagine how embarrassed she would feel if anyone were to catch them, but Narcissa would be worst of all.

Lucius pulled her round to face him and gazed down at her curiously.

‘This is my library, you know,’ he pointed out. ‘I think I’m entitled to do whatever I want in here, aren’t I?’

‘Of course, but—’

Lucius stopped Hermione’s protestation with a kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pulling her to him. Still kissing her, he picked her up and moved towards the empty table.

‘Lucius, please. Anyone could see us if they walk past the windows,’ Hermione pointed out worriedly as he placed her on the table, moving back a little once his lips left hers.

‘I can close the curtains,’ Lucius suggested insouciantly and pulled his wand from his pocket.

Hermione knew she had no choice.

‘Narcissa,’ she whispered almost apologetically.

Lucius gave a loud, put-upon sigh, his head going back in frustration as he rolled his eyes. ‘You know she doesn’t care, Hermione.’

‘But she quite often comes to see me, Lucius, and whatever her stance I still don’t think she would want to be confronted by that. I know I wouldn’t if I were in her position.’

Lucius wrapped his arms around Hermione again and kissed her forehead.

‘All right, my love, not in here — at least not today. We’ll go to my bedroom.’

Hermione was about to point out that she was supposed to be working when she remembered the illustrations. Sod it — work could wait for a while. She would much rather be having sex with Lucius, and he was her boss, after all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

‘Yes, please.’

With a smile at her response, Lucius waved his wand and the two of them disappeared from the library. A moment later they were in his bedroom. Lucius released Hermione onto the bed before dropping to his knees in front of her.

‘I want you,’ he told her sincerely.

His hands were already working on her trousers; he was pleasantly surprised to find they had an elasticated waist. He pulled them down, taking the knickers with them, and Hermione helped to kick out of them as Lucius discarded the garments on the floor. He gazed at her with lust for a moment before spreading her legs, then dived between them, his tongue connecting with her soft, warm flesh as he gave a loud moan of desire.

Hermione gasped and lay back on the huge four-poster bed, closing her eyes as she enjoyed what was happening to her, feeling the dull ache throbbing ever faster in time with her heart as Lucius’ warm, wet tongue examined every inch of her genitalia. She gave a small squeal as he sucked on her clit, the noise turning to a growl of approval as his fingers slid inside her.

‘I love doing that,’ Lucius confided before he sank again, his mouth covering her clit once more.

Hermione writhed beneath him, feeling her arousal building slowly but steadily, that throbbing ache almost unbearable now. She had pulled off her t-shirt at Lucius’ bidding, removing her bra so his hands could play with her breasts when they weren’t exploring her nether regions.

‘Fuck me,’ she whispered, her own hands running through Lucius’ lovely long blond hair as he continued to investigate her clitoris and labia with his mouth. ‘Please, Lucius. I need you.’

‘Cum for me first,’ he said, releasing her only for a moment.

Hermione closed her eyes again, her back arching as she concentrated on the feelings Lucius was raising inside her. Her hands moved to squeeze her breasts, pinching at the stiffened nipples, and moans of pleasure escaped her lips as the disparate feelings overwhelmed her, the ache now so bad that she almost cried out. Then she was screaming, calling out Lucius’ name over and over as the feeling inside her exploded in a wave of pleasure so intense she couldn’t keep it in.

Lucius remained where he was for a few more seconds, waiting until Hermione had calmed a little, then he moved back and watched his beautiful lover as he unbuttoned his trousers and released his throbbing erection. He needed to fuck Hermione every bit as much as she wanted him to. Before she could even move he was back between her legs, his eager cock pressing against her; his previous ministrations had made her wet enough for him to slide straight inside.

Hermione gasped and wrapped her arms and legs around him, clamping him to her as if she was never going to let him go. Lucius groaned loudly, delighting in the friction between them as they moved in a steady rhythm. He revelled in hearing Hermione’s enjoyment, which in turn increased his own pleasure. She was still whimpering when he came hard, unable to hold back the massive orgasm that made his whole body spasm with delight.

Lucius rolled off Hermione and instantly pulled her into his arms. He could feel her still twitching, her heart beating every bit as fast as his own. His mouth found hers for a tender kiss, followed by another and another, the two of them unable to break away from each other even for a second.

Eventually, when they had both calmed, Hermione said, ‘I should get back to work. You’re not paying me to lie around in bed all day.’

‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ Lucius replied wickedly. ‘I’d be more than happy to pay for you to stay here for as long as you like.’

‘I told you before I’m not your whore.’ Hermione extracted herself from his arms and sat up. 

‘I know that, and I wasn’t suggesting you were,’ Lucius said soothingly. ‘I just meant that I like being in bed with you and don’t care how long it takes to get the library sorted.’

Hermione slid out of bed and found her clothes. Lucius watched her appreciatively as she got dressed.

‘You really are gorgeous,’ he told her.

Hermione smiled and leant down to give him a kiss.

‘So are you, but now I need to get back to work. I’ll see you later.’

She went to move away but Lucius grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

‘Next time we’re doing it in the library,’ he warned her.

‘Only if Narcissa isn’t at home,’ Hermione retorted.

Lucius sighed loudly. ‘It’s my house.’

‘Yes, and she’s your wife,’ Hermione reminded him. ‘So only when she’s not around. Now, I need to go. I need to put away those illustrations before someone sees them.’

‘Are you going to look at the rest first?’ Lucius asked.

Hermione shrugged. ‘I may do.’

He grinned. ‘I might as well stay here, then. You’ll be back as soon as you’ve finished looking at them, begging me to fuck you again.’

‘Not necessarily,’ Hermione countered.

‘You will.’ Lucius’ grin was as smug as it could be. ‘Go on, go. I’ll see you in quarter of an hour or so.’

Hermione walked across the room and opened the door. ‘Don’t hold your breath waiting for me, will you?’

‘You’ll be back,’ Lucius prophesied. ‘I know how horny looking at three pictures made you and I also know how hot the others are.’ He began to undo his shirt in a seductive manner. ‘Come back whenever you’re ready, Hermione. I’ll be waiting.’

Hermione shook her head, but she was smiling. She blew Lucius a kiss as she went out the door.

Lucius finished removing his clothes and climbed into bed properly. He lay back with his hands behind his head, waiting for Hermione to come back to the bedroom. He knew she wouldn’t be long. The oral sex illustrations were tame compared to the ones that came after, documenting in exquisite detail various interesting sexual positions. Knowing how aroused Hermione became and how quickly, he reckoned he would have to wait no longer than half an hour at the most, and that would only be because she was trying to prove him wrong.

He closed his eyes, thinking of the various graphic illustrations and the recreation of them that he and lovely Hermione would be performing shortly. Her work was definitely finished for the day, whatever she might pretend. Lucius wondered for a moment whether she would put the drawings away without looking at them, maybe save them for another time, but he was fairly certain she wouldn’t. Hermione would need to look at them, she was far too inquisitive not to, and that would be enough.

There were plenty of other illustrations dotted around the library which he would be more than happy to reveal over the coming months, and next time they would definitely be staying down there, whatever Hermione said now. He might allow her to go to the minstrel’s gallery if she really still didn’t feel comfortable having sex in the main library space, but it was going to happen. It was a fantasy of his — actually, it was several fantasies — and Lucius was determined they weren’t going to stay that way for long.

It was twenty minutes later when Hermione came back to the bedroom. Lucius opened his arms to welcome her back to the bed once she had undressed.

‘Time to try some of those positions, eh?’ he said as Hermione’s warm body pressed seductively against his.

‘Mmmm, I particularly like the idea of number seven,’ she told him.

‘Number seven, eh? You _are_ a naughty girl . . . lucky me,’ Lucius said lasciviously.

He grinned, knowing he and Hermione were in for a great afternoon.


	7. Seven

Hermione rubbed her eyes as she surveyed the piles of books and papers around her. She had spent almost all day working in the library and the dust was making her throat sore and her eyes itchy. She needed to take a break and get a drink but she was having a good run and had found an interesting collection of books from the 1750s that she was looking forward to examining in more detail once she finished work. She knew if she sat down now she wouldn’t do anything more today.

She clicked her fingers to summon a house-elf. She hadn’t like the idea when she first moved in, but Narcissa had explained that they were used to it and expected it. Although Hermione had tried to talk to the house-elves, and Lucius had been true to his word and tried to offer them salaries and holidays, the distress exhibited by the entire house-elf community at the manor had been so disturbing to Hermione that she had given up and admitted that in this case she probably wasn’t going to have any success, at least not in the short term.

Hermione didn’t intend to give up completely with her reformation of the house-elves of Malfoy Manor but she now realised they needed to be led to freedom slowly and gently, not have it forced upon them. One day she would realise her dream, and she knew now that Lucius would be right alongside her when she did.

She didn’t know the name of the house-elf that appeared at her call — Hermione hadn’t yet learnt all their names as she interacted with them infrequently — but she smiled at it anyway. It smiled back warily, seeming worried that she was going to try to do something to try to free it or something equally horrific.

‘Could you get me a drink, please?’ she asked, noticing that the elf perked up at her words. It understood this order and knew there was no danger in fulfilling it. ‘I don’t really mind what it is, but something long and cold would be perfect. It’s quite dusty in here and it’s making my throat dry. A couple of wet cloths would be appreciated as well, if you don’t mind.’

The elf nodded once, looking relieved to be escaping from her so easily, and disappeared with the popping noise she expected from its magic.

Hermione stood up and leant against the small desk she had pulled into the stacks while she looked at the current list she was compiling. She was actually quite pleased with how much she had got done in the last couple of months, although she suspected she would have managed quite a bit more if Lucius hadn’t kept distracting her at every available opportunity.

She had no idea how much more pornographic material there was scattered throughout the library but she was certain her lover would continue to find it and tempt her with it for as long as possible. Fortunately, he still hadn’t coerced her into having sex in the library although he had reminded her of it several times now. Hermione suspected that eventually he was going to insist because it seemed to be some sort of fantasy for him.

Lucius still wasn’t letting her work at weekends, either, which wasted yet more time — although if she was honest, Hermione actually didn’t mind that too much.

‘A drink of pumpkin juice for you, my lady.’

Hermione turned to see Draco Malfoy holding out a large glass; the condensation made it look opaque, showing just how cold the drink was. She frowned, then immediately dropped the expression before Draco saw it. No one had mentioned to her that he was coming home today, otherwise she would have been better prepared for his arrival which would have included not being stuck on her own at the back of the stacks.

She smiled and took the glass. ‘Thank you, Draco. You didn’t have to bring it, although it’s most appreciated.’

Hermione took a long swig, enjoying the feeling of the cold juice as it eased her parched throat. She took a second mouthful, almost emptying the glass.

‘You really are thirsty,’ Draco said, sounding amused.

‘I’ve been working in here for hours; the atmosphere is quite dry and dusty and it’s made my throat really parched. I needed something to lubricate it.’

Draco seemed as if he was about to say something in reply, his pale eyes glittering with amusement, but then his expression changed as he held out the wet cloths.

‘You asked for these as well?’

‘Perfect,’ Hermione said as she took them off him. She leant back against the table and draped them over her eyes, enjoying the soothing feeling of the cold damp material against the sore, scratchy skin. She sighed happily.

Draco watched her in confusion for a moment. Hermione realised he was probably wondering what she was doing.

‘My eyes are sore as well as my throat,’ she told him. ‘The water soothes the soreness a bit.’

‘I’m impressed at how well you’re getting on with the library,’ Draco said. ‘Mother told me how much you’ve done already.’

‘Thanks to her and the list she had already made,’ Hermione pointed out as she lifted the cloths for a moment to look at him. ‘That really helped.’

Draco smiled. ‘I’m glad you’re settling in. I thought it would be your sort of job.’

Hermione pressed the pads on her eyes again, resisting the urge to scrub them against the itchy skin as she knew it would just make it worse.

‘Your mother told me that you suggested me for the job. I was quite surprised, to be honest, but really pleased to get the opportunity. It’s a fantastic collection and I’m not even a quarter of the way through it yet.’

‘I was hoping it would give us a chance to get to know each other better,’ Draco admitted. ‘I know we didn’t really get on at school because I was being a complete prat, but I’ve always had a lot of respect for you, Hermione . . . more than that, actually,’

Hermione realised Draco was closer now. Too close. Even without being able to see she could feel him looming over her and needed to get him to move.

‘I was hoping that without your friends around to get in the way we might get to know each other a lot better . . . a lot more intimately,’ he continued.

Hermione gasped as Draco unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her, trapping her, and pressed his mouth against her lips. She wriggled and tried to push him away, but he wasn’t letting go.

‘Don’t fight it,’ he whispered. His mouth brushed against hers again, capturing her in a kiss, and his tongue pressed into her mouth.

Hermione kissed him back but then wriggled enough for him to release her when it ended, removing the cloths from her eyes to glare at him.

‘What did you do that for?’ she demanded.

‘I told you. I got you the job so I could get to know you more intimately,’ Draco said, his voice huskier now. ‘You have no idea how much I want you, Hermione.’

He moved forward again, but Hermione held her hand up to stop him.

Draco looked surprised. ‘What’s the matter? I know I’m being a bit forward but I’m only here for a couple of days and I don’t want to waste any time. I want you.’

Ignoring Hermione’s attempt to stop him he picked her up and placed her on the table, moving so he was between her legs, his mouth finding hers again as his arms wrapped around her once more.

‘Stop it, please,’ she pleaded, determined there wouldn’t be a third kiss.

Draco stared at her in disappointment.

‘If you just give me a chance—’

‘No.’ Hermione shook her head.

‘But we could be so good together, Hermione,’ Draco averred. ‘You just need to let me show you. I can give you so much pleasure if you just give me a chance.’

His hand reached out to find the waistband of her trousers. Hermione slapped his hand away.

‘Whatever it is you’re doing you can stop it now,’ she insisted firmly, pushing at him again. ‘I’m sorry, Draco, but I’m not interested.’

‘Just let me go down on you. I bet you’ll change your mind then,’ Draco said saucily, with a grin to match.

Hermione grimaced. ‘I said no and I meant no. I’m sorry, but I don’t fancy you and I don’t want you going down on me. I’m not here for you to sexually harass. I’m a librarian, not your fuck toy.’

‘Why did you take the job, then? I thought it was obvious why I wanted you to do it,’ Draco replied, sounding petulant. ‘The whole point was to give us a bit of time alone so we could do stuff like this.’

He tried to grab her again. Once again Hermione slapped him, this time round the face.

Draco rubbed his cheek, looking annoyed now. ‘I don’t know why you’re playing so hard to get unless you’re completely frigid. I’ll be a better lover than either of those two morons you went around with at school; you just have to give me a chance to prove it.’

He stopped speaking at the sight of Hermione’s face. She was scowling at his comment about her being frigid. Realising he might have made a mistake, Draco hurriedly raised his hands and backtracked.

‘I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean what I just said about you being frigid — that was just frustration talking — but I really don’t understand why you’re here if it wasn’t so we could get together.’

He frowned as he thought for a second, then added, ‘I’m not talking about a quick fling or anything if that’s what you’re thinking, Hermione. I’m talking about us having a proper relationship, being a real couple. The library job was just an excuse to get you here, really. I thought my mother knew that, although I suppose it makes sense that she wouldn’t have mentioned it to you when she was telling you about the job.’   

‘I didn’t get the job offer from you, Draco, and if I had I would probably have said no without even coming to see the library,’ Hermione told him honestly.

Draco looked surprised. ‘But I suggested you to my parents — my mother told you about it, you said she did. Didn’t you wonder why I wanted you here?’

Hermione pushed him back and stood up.

‘Your father offered me the job so I agreed to come here. It was only after I’d accepted it that your mother mentioned that you had suggested me for the post originally. To be honest, it never occurred to me to ask why. I assumed you thought I’d be suitable because I was always in the library at school. There was no way I could link your suggestion to you wanting to get together with me. You always hated me at school, and let’s face it, the feeling was mutual. As it is I’ve got absolutely no intention of doing anything with you, so if your only interest in being in here is to try to have sex with me you can leave now because I’m not interested.’

Draco stared at her, his look hopeful. ‘Look, I’m sorry I came on a bit strong to start with. You’re right, you’re not a toy, but I really do want to get to know you better and have a relationship with you, Hermione. We started off on the wrong foot so let’s start again, eh? Let’s go for a walk, have a chat and get to know each other, maybe even have another drink and see how it goes. I’m really not a bad bloke when you get to know me — you might even find you like me.’ He flashed her a winsome grin.

Hermione sighed. ‘Look, Draco I’m sure you’re perfectly nice and if I got to know you better I probably would like you. But the couple thing is a complete non-starter, so unless you’re happy just being friends — and that means no touching and no kissing — then I’m really not interested, I’m sorry.’

‘Are you still with Weasley? Is that the reason?’ Draco’s face was dejected as he asked the question.

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, that ended a while ago. But there is someone else, which is why I’m not interested in a relationship with you.’

‘So who’s the lucky bastard, then?’ Draco asked with a bitterness that surprised her.

‘Does it matter? It’s not you and I’m not going to leave him for you. That’s all there is to it.’

Anger seemed to flare in Draco and he demanded, ‘Why won’t you tell me who it is? I bet there isn’t anyone, really. You’re still just trying to play hard to get.’

Hermione sighed again, and rubbing her temples as if to get rid of a headache she pushed past Draco and out of the stacks into the main library area.

He followed her, goading now. ‘Well come on — if you really are with someone else tell me who it is and I’ll leave you alone.’    

‘I don’t see why you need to know. It’s not really any of your business,’ Hermione answered, turning to face him again.

‘Perhaps if I knew who it was I might have a little word with him,’ Draco suggested menacingly. ‘Are you scared of what I’ll do to him if I know who it is?’

Hermione shook her head and looked unimpressed at Draco’s threat. ‘Not really. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to threaten him or beat him up or whatever, but it would probably upset you to know who it is. I think your best bet is just to leave the library and forget I’m in here.’

‘It’s Potter, isn’t it?’ Draco shot back.

Hermione chuckled mirthlessly as she shook her head in astonishment. She picked up a couple of books and glanced at them briefly. ‘No, it’s not Harry. He’s going out with Ginny and has been since they were at Hogwarts.’

‘Why won’t you just tell me who it is?’ Draco sounded desperate now.

Hermione walked to a pile of books on one of the library tables and added the two she was carrying to them, then looked up at Draco, who had followed her again.

‘I told you, I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘How’s it going to hurt me? What, are you fucking my best friend? Is that it — have you and Blaise got together and he hasn’t told me about it?’

‘No, it’s not Zabini. Please, Draco, stop asking. Just accept that you and I aren’t meant to be a couple and leave it at that,’ Hermione pleaded.

‘But I really like you,’ Draco insisted. ‘I think we could be a really good couple, but how can I fight for you if I don’t know who I’m fighting against?’

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking, giving herself a chance to calm down a little. ‘I don’t want you fighting for me, that’s the whole point. I’m not willing to talk about this any longer. Please go away so I can get on with my work.’

Draco grabbed her arm. ‘No. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who it is.’

‘Draco, please, you’re hurting me.’ Hermione tried to uncurl his fingers but he just gripped her tighter. Hermione could picture her arm being bruised and tried to imagine explaining it to Lucius.

‘Then tell me. Tell me and I’ll let you go.’

Hermione stared at him sadly. ‘You really don’t want to know. I know you think you do, but you don’t . . . believe me.’

‘I’m not letting you go until you tell me,’ Draco warned her.

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she stared at him. ‘I’m sorry, Draco. It’s your father. I’m having a relationship with your father.’

Draco stared at her in shock, then suddenly dropped her arm as if she had a contagious disease.

‘What? You’re joking, aren’t you?’ His face creased in confusion. ‘Please tell me you’re joking.’

Hermione shook her head. ‘I did tell you that you wouldn’t be happy knowing. That’s why I didn’t want to say who it was.’

‘How long—’ Draco couldn’t finish the sentence.

‘Since I came here. It was part of the reason I took the job, to be closer to him. I didn’t know about you or your infatuation with me until it was too late and I was already here. I had been hoping that when I did see you we could talk about it sensibly. I didn’t expect you to try to grope me like some pervert. If I’d known you were coming today I would never have put myself in a position where you could have caught me off-guard like you did.’

Draco continued staring at her in seeming astonishment and Hermione felt she had to continue talking to cover the awkward silence that seemed to have filled the room.

‘I’m sorry you found out this way, I really am, but now you know we can go forward on a more stable footing — maybe we can even become friends eventually. Anyway, it sounds like you weren’t really expecting me to do the library cataloguing properly but it’s actually an amazing job and I’m spending as much time as I’m able to working on it, so I honestly wouldn’t be very happy about continually being disturbed for something non-library related.’

She crossed her fingers behind her back as she said this, knowing full well that Lucius was forever interrupting her and that generally, she was pretty happy about it.  

Completely ignoring everything Hermione had just told him, presumably because he hadn’t bothered to listen, Draco said musingly, ‘Just because you’re shagging my father doesn’t mean we can’t do it, too. I could be your bit on the side. No one needs to know about it if you don’t want him to find out.’

‘It’s got nothing to do with your father being jealous,’ Hermione said, shaking her head in exasperation. ‘I’m just not interested in you in that way and nothing you can say is going to get me to change my mind. You might just as well suggest a threesome for all the luck you’re going to have.’

Draco gave a wicked grin, then chuckled to go with it. Slyly, he asked, ‘Are you up for that sort of thing, then? Like the idea of being completely stuffed with Malfoy cock, do you?’

Hermione shook her head again and sighed loudly. ‘ _No_ , I am not interested. Draco, please listen to me and get it through your thick skull — I–do–not–want–to–do–anything–with–you.’

‘I bet it would be good, especially for you. I reckon my father might be up for that as well. I’ll have to have a word with him,’ Draco suggested keenly, still clearly ignoring Hermione’s responses.

‘No! I refuse to even think about it, and I definitely don’t want you suggesting it to Lucius. I’m not interested and that’s all there is to it.’ Hermione was getting really annoyed now.

‘What’s the matter, worried you might like it?’ Draco retorted sarcastically. ‘You’re a bit too eager to say no, in my opinion. I bet you fantasise about it really.’ He leant closer and whispered, ‘Is that it, Granger? Have you been fantasising about getting well and truly fucked by the Malfoys? No need to be embarrassed, love. It’s understandable — after all, we are both impressive specimens. You really couldn’t do any better.’

Hermione stared at him in disgust. ‘Only in your dreams, Malfoy. I never wanted anything to do with either of you and certainly never had any fantasies that didn’t involve you getting out of my life forever. But since I’ve been here Lucius has proved himself to be a worthy suitor for my affections and he’s shown me that he’s not just a perverted lech like you are, so I’m happy to be with him. I don’t think I even want to talk to you anymore, and certainly not at the moment. Just go away and leave me alone.’   

‘This isn’t over,’ Draco warned her, finally realising he wasn’t going to win, at least not at that moment. ‘I still think you’re playing hard to get, whatever you try to pretend now, and I’m going to prove it eventually.’

‘Go away!’ Hermione’s tone had a note of finality to it.

Draco opened his mouth as if to speak again but saw Hermione’s glare and closed his mouth, nodding. She watched him silently as he turned to leave, fighting the urge to throw a book at him. Hermione waited until she was sure he was out of the room, then made her way back to the desk she had been working at, sighing and unconsciously rubbing her sore eyes as she went.

She felt a bit shaken by the encounter. Not because she fancied Draco — she didn’t and was fairly certain nothing he could do would ever change her mind. But there was a relentlessness about him which suggested that he had no intention of giving up, and she really didn’t need the hassle or the anxiety that would come from having to look over her shoulder all the time.

Draco was exceptionally persistent when he got going, and he didn’t seem to understand or even care about consent. She couldn’t allow him to trap her somewhere she couldn’t escape; she dreaded to think what might happen, especially if he really was so deluded as to believe that she was just stringing him along, waiting for the moment when she would reveal her desire for him.

Hermione considered talking to Narcissa about it. After all, she had been keen for her not to have a relationship with her son; surely she could be relied upon to do something to intercede on her behalf. But Hermione suspected it would just annoy the woman; the circumstance she had been so keen to avoid was already coming to pass, particularly if Lucius became involved as well.

Unfortunately, Hermione was pretty sure Draco wasn’t going to leave her alone just because she had asked him to, so she couldn’t ignore it or she would end up driving herself mad with worry. She needed to think what was going to be the best way to tackle the problem.

Hermione checked her watch and stared at the massive pile of books on the table in front of her, then sighed and rubbed her temples again. She had a headache now — caused by stress, no doubt — and her enthusiasm for reading the books she had put aside had waned and been replaced by a feeling of nausea.

She wasn’t going to look at them. Instead, she would go and have a lie-down and see if she could sleep off the headache. She just hoped that by the time she had to join the family for dinner she was better prepared to deal with Draco again.

Hermione looked around her, checking that everything was in order, then left the library and headed rapidly for the stairs to her bedroom; the only place in Malfoy Manor where she was guaranteed not to be disturbed by anyone.


	8. Eight

Hermione was relieved when Draco left Malfoy Manor only a couple of days after he had arrived, intending to head off to stay with some close friends who were having a weekend party before going back up to London for work on Monday morning. She had managed to keep away from him during the two days he was there and she had been pleased, and somewhat surprised, that he hadn’t made another attempt to come on to her or even really interact with her at all outside of mealtimes. Perhaps he had finally got his head around the fact that she wasn’t available and decided she was no longer worth pursuing romantically or sexually, and he obviously didn’t want to be her friend.

However, it was over breakfast on the morning he left that Draco invited her to go with him to the party, seeming keen for her to meet and spend time with his friends. It appeared Hermione’s original assessment was wrong and he had merely chosen to completely ignore her revelation that she was having a relationship with his father. He tried hard to persuade her but she constantly declined the offer, whatever he suggested, citing the need to continue with her work on the library despite it being a weekend.

Draco wasn’t inclined to accept her rejection and Hermione began to think he was never going to shut up about it. Eventually, Narcissa helpfully chipped in, suggesting that Hermione might feel a little too far out of her comfort zone at suddenly being thrust into Draco’s gang of friends after years of being on the receiving end of their spite and derision and that it was unfair of him to expect her to drop everything she was doing to go with him at a moment’s notice, particularly when she was unlikely to enjoy the weekend much.

It was clear Draco wanted to continue with his coercion but Narcissa made it equally apparent, without saying another word, that for him to do so would not be borne. He tersely wiped his mouth, threw his napkin onto his plate, and muttered something about needing to get on, and looking like thunder, he left the room.

Hermione had already finished her breakfast, too, but knowing she would likely be accosted by Draco again if she left the safety of the dining room she chose to have another cup of tea, talking to Narcissa about some books on vintage wizarding fashions she had come across during her cataloguing; anything to keep occupied until Draco calmed down.

He re-entered the dining room about ten minutes later carrying his bag as if ready to go. He was casually dressed, apparently ready for the party, and made a big show of being in a hurry to leave. Having kissed his mother and said a brief goodbye to Lucius, who was in the middle of reading the newspaper, he turned to Hermione.

‘Are you sure I can’t persuade you to come with me this weekend and get away from that dusty old library for a while, Hermione?’ he asked, his voice as seductive as she had ever heard it. ‘I promise to look after you well and make sure my friends all understand that you’re one of us now and that any nastiness won’t be tolerated. I shall see to it personally.’

Narcissa’s face twitched just a fraction at the words, her eyes darting between Hermione and Draco as rapidly as if she was watching a tennis game. Lucius continued to read his newspaper, not taking any notice of the exchange or the sudden increase in tension in the room.

For a moment Hermione was tempted to agree, still stinging from Narcissa’s inference that she couldn’t handle being with a group of pureblood idiots she had known from school and knowing, too, that it would annoy the older woman no end; after all, it was clear to anyone listening what Draco was suggesting with his invite and it was exactly what Narcissa didn’t want. But she made herself calm down, reminding herself that Narcissa had only said what she had to give her an excuse to not have to go . . . probably.

Hermione shook her head, trying to appear relaxed. ‘Thank you for the invite but parties aren’t really my sort of thing, to be honest, Draco. I’m more your find a quiet nook and read a book type of a girl.’ She smiled a little more wickedly. ‘Anyway, I wouldn’t want to upset all those eligible young Slytherins who are probably already plotting ways to tie you down. They wouldn’t be at all pleased if I turned up on your arm.’

Draco scowled for a moment and seemed about to respond when Narcissa interrupted again.

‘Darling, don’t make Hermione have to be mean to you. She’s trying to be nice about it but she really doesn’t want to go to your party.’

Disappointed now, and knowing he couldn’t push it any further, Draco nodded to show he understood. With a small, stiff bow and a final wave he left the room, and a couple of minutes later they heard the front door slam shut.

Narcissa stared accusingly at Hermione. Before she could say anything Hermione shrugged and put her own napkin on her plate.

‘If you’ll excuse me, Narcissa, I’m going to go to the library. Do you want me to bring you those books we were talking about?’

Narcissa shook her head. ‘Not at the moment, Hermione. I’m going up to town today. I’m meeting an old friend for lunch in Diagon Alley, then we’re going to a show in the evening. I’ll probably stay overnight and come back tomorrow afternoon sometime.’

‘You’re not spending all day in the library, Hermione,’ Lucius added firmly. He looked over the top of his newspaper at the two women and frowned slightly. ‘You need to get some fresh air. How about going riding?’

Hermione’s expression showed that riding was the last thing she wanted to do. Narcissa saw it and chuckled.

‘Can you actually ride, Hermione?’ she asked, sounding amused.

Hermione wasn’t sure if the comment was intended as a bit of a dig at her being so uncultured but she decided to be truthful.

‘Not really. I went on a donkey once — when I was seven. I was on holiday with my parents in Clacton and it scared the life out of me. I started crying so badly that they had to take me off.  I also went for one riding lesson with a friend of mine who was horse-mad when I was about ten, but I don’t like horses — their big teeth terrify me. It was a horrible experience that scarred me for life, I think. I’m not really the outdoorsy type,’ she concluded apologetically.

‘I could teach you,’ Lucius suggested.

Narcissa gave a huge sigh and shook her head in exasperation. ‘The girl’s literally just told you she’s scared of horses, Lucius. You can’t force her to go riding just because _you_ enjoy it. She’d be better off going to Draco’s party if she’s going to confront her fears. If you’re so keen to go riding, go, and let Hermione do what she loves — continue with the library.’

‘I’ll be fine, honestly,’ Hermione told Lucius, feeling a little put out that Narcissa was speaking on her behalf again even if she was saying the right things.

Lucius closed the newspaper and folded it, then placed it on the table next to him. He stretched, then looked at Hermione.

‘I am not having you spending all weekend cooped up in the library,’ he warned. ‘If you want to go there for an hour or so while I go and have a ride, fair enough. But afterwards, we’re going to find something else to do. Draco’s right, you need to get out of that dusty old room every so often.’

‘Come and find me when you come back, Lucius,’ Hermione told him as she stood up.

She turned to Narcissa. ‘Have a good time in London. I hope you enjoy the show.’

Narcissa smiled graciously. ‘I expect to, thank you, Hermione. Is there anything you need while I’m there? I shall be in Diagon Alley for a few hours, no doubt.’

Hermione shook her head with a smile in return. ‘Normally I would say a new book from Flourish and Blotts, but with the amount already in the library that I’ve never read I don’t think I’ll ever need to go there again.’ She turned to go, then turned back, remembering. ‘Oh, actually a new quill and some more ink would be appreciated, if you don’t mind. I seem to be going through it at a rate of knots at the moment.’

‘I’ll have Scriveners send some immediately,’ Narcissa said. She, too, stood. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Lucius. I’ve arranged with the house-elves for dinner to be served at seven so I’ll be back by then. They’re doing roast beef.’

Lucius waved at her somewhat dismissively. ‘Have a good time, Narcissa.’

‘Oh, I will, don’t you worry about that,’ Narcissa replied with a bright smile as she and Hermione left the room.

As she made her way towards the library, Hermione couldn’t help wondering who this friend was that Narcissa was meeting in London who made her smile so happily.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Lucius came to find Hermione once he had finished his ride and wasted no time in pointing out to her that as Narcissa was no longer in the house she had no excuse not to allow him to pleasure her on one of the library tables as he had wanted to for so long.

Hermione helpfully pointed out that they were all being used, but within minutes Lucius had solved that problem and she was on her back, naked and with her legs apart, her wonderful lover burying his face between them and she trying not to cry out as his tongue took her to new levels of enjoyment.

She had to admit that Lucius looked extremely sexy in his tight black jodhpurs and long black leather boots, a white shirt under a tight-fitting dark green velvet jacket completing the look that, minus Lucius’ lustrous long blond hair, reminded her a little of the Muggle actor Colin Firth in his role as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, a television show her mother had been particularly enamoured with back when Hermione was in the fifth year at Hogwarts.

Hermione had finally watched it during the Christmas holidays during the sixth year. Her father had disappeared, first to play golf and then go to the pub with his friends while she, her mother and her mother’s best friend, Judy, had binge-watched the entire series in one sitting, ordering in pizza so they didn’t have to stop to cook and drinking white wine spritzers as if they were going out of fashion. It had been one of Hermione’s favourite days with her mother and it always gave her good feelings to remember it — and Colin Firth had looked really hot, too. Maybe she had always been into older men. She had just never considered it before.

By the time Hermione had cum, screaming out Lucius’ name, she was ready to do anything he wanted; her hands were already reaching for those tight trousers, wanting to pleasure him in return. As he moved back to give her space Hermione slid from the table and dropped to her knees in front of him as she peeled down Lucius’ trousers to reveal his perfect rock-hard cock. He wasn’t wearing underpants.

No longer caring that they were in front of a huge window that would advertise them to anyone who might be in the garden, Hermione swallowed his cock, trying to take as much of him as she could, knowing how much Lucius enjoyed it when she did that.

Sure enough, he groaned loudly, running his hands through her hair, careful not to force but making clear with his touch that she could keep doing what she was doing for as long as possible. She kept him there for as long as she could, then moved her mouth to suck on the sensitive head before teasing with her tongue and fingers, drawing him ever closer to climax.

Lucius had his eyes closed and a small continuous murmur of enjoyment escaped his lips as his hands gripped Hermione’s head more tightly, his thrusting becoming more forceful as he emptied himself into her mouth with a gasp of delight.

When Lucius released her, Hermione moved back and sat on her heels as she gazed up at him. Her tongue flicked out to capture a drop of cum that had landed on her lips. Lucius, spotting the gesture, groaned again and leant forward to pull her up and into his arms, his mouth swooping to capture hers in an impassioned kiss.

‘This table is the perfect height,’ he noted happily once their snogging session had eased. His cock was fully erect once more. He turned her to face the table. ‘Bend over.’

Hermione turned her head to look at him, her eyebrows raised as if in surprise although she wore an amused look.

‘No sexy pictures today, then?’ she asked.

‘Do you need them? I can always find some for you if you do.’

‘It’ll give me something to look at,’ Hermione teased.

‘You don’t need anything to look at,’ Lucius whispered in her ear, his cock rubbing against her bottom.

Hermione gave a small sigh. Lucius wasn’t sure whether it was of disappointment or arousal. He kissed her neck.

‘Wait there. I’ll be back in a minute.’

He hurried across the room to retrieve the folder containing the pictures he had shown Hermione when he had introduced her to the erotica collection, the ones they had studied and copied many times since then. She smiled as he opened the folder on the table in front of her, revealing one of her favourite illustrations.

‘Life imitating art,’ he said with a flourish.

He stepped back to admire Hermione, who was still bending over the table.

‘You have the most gorgeous bottom,’ he announced sincerely.

Hermione turned her head to look at him.

‘Thank you. Now come here.’ She crooked her finger to draw him towards her.

‘With pleasure,’ Lucius answered as he joined her.

He ran his hand down over her bottom, stroking it before working his way between her legs, searching for her vulva. His fingers slid inside her, enjoying the feeling as Hermione tensed around him, a small gasp escaping her lips. He kissed her neck as he looked at the picture on the table for a moment, whispering in her ear to tell her how much he desired her; how much he wanted to be inside her.

Hermione sighed happily at the feel of Lucius’ touch, her arousal already stoked and sustained by the beautiful artwork in front of her. She moved her legs apart to give her lover better access and closed her eyes, crying out with joy as his hard cock found her tight entrance and pushed deep inside her. One hand cupped her right breast, squeezing gently in time with his thrusts; the other was around her waist, spread across her belly, pushing it gently as he rode her.

She wanted to grab the table to steady herself and offset some of the overwhelming feeling that was welling up inside of her, but she was worried about accidentally grabbing the irreplaceable illustration and damaging it. With a rasping whisper, she begged Lucius to pause so she could close the folder to keep the precious artwork safe.

As soon as it was closed Lucius began pounding again, harder and faster this time, his hands pulling Hermione onto him even as he forced her forwards onto the table. The thrusts now were short and sharp, causing Hermione to pant and gasp; a low mewling sound escaped her lips and Lucius growled in her ear as he spurred her on. Then with almost no warning he grunted and stiffened, and a sigh of relief burst from him as Hermione writhed beneath him.

His breathing still coming fast and shallow, Lucius wrapped his arms around Hermione, kissing the top of her head as he held her tight and waited for his racing heart to calm, not wanting to let her go under any circumstances. She wriggled beneath him uncomfortably, pressed into the table as she was.

‘Sorry, love,’ Lucius said a little ruefully as he moved back to release her.

Hermione turned round and moved to wrap her arms around him, her mouth closing on his.

‘That was wonderful,’ she admitted afterwards.

Lucius beamed. ‘It was, wasn’t it? I told you that table was the perfect height.’

‘Only when Narcissa’s not here, though,’ Hermione reminded him in case he decided to start insisting that they always do it in the library.

Lucius chuckled. ‘I still don’t understand why you’re so worried about that.’ He saw her look and added, ‘Don’t worry, I know not to ask when the mistress of the house is in residence.’

He released Hermione and pulled his trousers back up as she bent down to retrieve her clothes.

‘Let’s go and take a shower to freshen up. After that, I thought we could spend the day in the garden. It’s beautiful out there this morning; warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze to stop it becoming unbearably hot. We can have a picnic lunch in the rose garden, and you can get out your paints if you wish to.’

‘Are you going to let me paint you?’ Hermione asked.

Lucius grinned. ‘Absolutely. I insist on it.’

‘You know I’ll want you naked, don’t you?’ Hermione winked at him.

‘I was counting on that, too,’ Lucius told her, the grin becoming more lecherous. ‘We can start a whole new generation of erotica. I’m not sure if I ever mentioned it, but the couple in those illustrations in the folder are my great-great-grandfather, also called Lucius, and his mistress, Lyllian.’

They left the library and wandered slowly towards the stairs.

‘You do know that you’re going to have to paint in the nude, don’t you?’ Lucius asked.

‘Why?’ Hermione looked at him in surprise.

‘Because I’ll be too embarrassed to be naked on my own,’ Lucius replied with a look that said that he would be no such thing.

Hermione shook her head, looking stern. ‘That is quite impossible, Lucius. I can’t paint without any clothes on.’

Lucius took her in his arms again once they were outside her bedroom.

‘I shall have to insist upon it, I’m afraid, Hermione,’ he told her quietly before he kissed her. With a grin he added, ‘Anyway, how are we supposed to properly capture the eroticism of our lovemaking if you’re going to insist on staying fully clothed all the time? ‘

‘We’ll see,’ Hermione said teasingly as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside. She blew him a kiss as she closed the door.

Lucius nodded with satisfaction and walked jauntily down the hall to his own room, whistling a happy tune as he considered what the remainder of the day would bring.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

‘So what happened at breakfast this morning?’ Lucius asked out of the blue.

They were laying in each other’s arms after another fantastic lovemaking session. Hermione was drifting off into sleep, warm and cosy in Lucius’ embrace.

‘Hmmm? What do you mean?’ she asked, her voice sounding as drowsy as she felt.

‘With you and Draco,’ Lucius prompted.

Hermione gave a small yawn. ‘He invited me to the party he’s gone to. He wanted me to spend the weekend with him.’

‘Oh, right.’ Lucius was silent for a few seconds, then he asked, ‘Why did he invite you?’

Hermione replied without thinking. ‘He fancies me — he wants to have sex with me.’

‘Well, naturally he does. He’s a horny young man and you’re amazingly sexy,’ Lucius replied as if it was obvious.

‘He tried to jump me in the library the other day but I told him about you and me. He wasn’t very happy about it and couldn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t interested in him as well. He suggested I could shag him on the side — my secret boyfriend.’ Hermione shook her head disbelievingly.

Lucius studied her for a moment. ‘Do you fancy him?’

‘What, Draco? No, I don’t. I never have done, and after his crude behaviour the other day that’s not likely to change anytime soon. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, actually, because I was certain he wasn’t going to leave me alone. Fortunately, he left before I had to work it out.’

‘He’ll be back soon enough,’ Lucius reminded her.

Hermione sighed. ‘I know. That’s what worries me. He thinks I’m just playing hard to get and that eventually, I’ll give in to his dubious charms. I’ve no doubt he’ll be back on my trail soon, much to Narcissa’s annoyance.’

‘What’s she got a bee in her bonnet about now?’ Lucius asked, his tone slightly chippy.

‘Me being the centre of the universe for the Malfoy males,’ Hermione admitted. ‘She’s not happy about Draco fancying me — she thinks he can do better, someone not Muggle-born.’ The words tripped off her tongue bitterly as Lucius’ eyebrow rose in surprise. ‘She told me to choose between you because she doesn’t want you fighting over me. I chose you . . . but it’s not proving easy to get Draco to back off.’

‘Maybe you should just fuck him, then,’ Lucius retorted blithely.

‘That’s your answer, is it?’ Hermione asked icily, a small, cold shard of pain suddenly piercing her heart at his words. Why was Lucius saying that? Did he not want her anymore so he was passing her on to his son?

Lucius shrugged. ‘Well, if he just wants to fuck you then maybe you should let him get it out of his system.’

‘I don’t want to have sex with him, Lucius. Anyway, I’m not sure it would work. He was talking about me being his girlfriend not just having sex. Mind you, he was also talking about us having a threesome,’ Hermione moaned.

Lucius roared with laughter. ‘Good lad. He’s more like me than I thought. A threesome, eh? I could be up for that. You know there are some rather interesting illustrations in the library dealing with the various positions—’

Hermione cut him off before he could become too enthused about the subject. ‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up. There’s more chance of me having sex with Narcissa than with the two of you at the same time . . . and before you ask, that’s never going to happen, either.’

Lucius was still chuckling good-naturedly. ‘I’d pay good money to see you and Narcissa—’ He shut up as he saw the expression on Hermione’s face. After a couple of seconds of silence, he opined, ‘I reckon Draco and I could give you a good seeing to between us.’

‘That’s not funny,’ Hermione snapped.

‘Actually, I disagree. I think it’s quite amusing,’ Lucius told her with a smile.

Hermione was feeling pretty pissed off now, and wide awake, too. She considered leaving but the small shard of pain had now turned into a ball of worry.

‘Don’t you care?’ she asked unhappily.

Lucius wrapped his arms around her, his voice suddenly more soothing as he realised she was actually upset at his jesting.

‘Of course I do, Hermione. But I’m not worried about my son.’

‘Really? And what if I do sleep with him and then decide I prefer him to you? What would you do then?’

Lucius looked at her as if she was mad. ‘Well, that’s never going to happen.’

‘Isn’t it? Why not? I don’t know Draco well enough to know whether I’d like him or not but he might turn out to be my perfect man,’ Hermione retorted.

‘ _I’m_ your perfect man,’ Lucius told her categorically. ‘Anyway, you chose me so I don’t see what the problem is.’

‘The problem is you trying to get me to sleep with your son. If you’re fed up with me just tell me and I’ll leave. Don’t try to foist me off on someone else,’ Hermione said, her head dropping as she tried to staunch the tears that had suddenly sprung into her eyes.

Lucius stared at her in surprise. ‘Where’s that coming from? I was only joking about Draco, surely you realised that?’ He squeezed Hermione. ‘Honestly, love, I’m not trying to get rid of you. I don’t ever want to let you go.’ His hand pulled Hermione’s chin up so he could see her upset face. ‘I was joking. I’m sorry. You’re right, it wasn’t funny so I’ll stop.’ He kissed her lips tenderly. ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me, Hermione, please?’

Hermione stared at him for several seconds, a bright, sharp pain still burning inside her. How could she be sure Lucius was telling her the truth? She had no way of knowing for certain. Eventually, she nodded and Lucius swept her into another kiss, wanting her to know he was being serious about his feelings for her.

‘I should go to bed,’ Hermione told him when he finally released her.

Lucius gazed at her in amusement. ‘You’re already in bed, Hermione.’

‘I meant my own bed.’

‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that so it looks like now is the perfect time.’ Lucius smiled at her. ‘I want you to move in here with me permanently, Hermione.’

She looked at him in surprise, seemingly not knowing what to say.

‘You spend a lot of time in here anyway,’ Lucius explained. ‘I thought it would make sense for you to stay here rather than having to keep moving to and fro. I love you and I want to share my life with you. If you want that too, then this is the logical next step.’

Hermione burst into tears as Lucius watched her incredulously, wondering what he had done wrong this time. She sobbed as he pulled her into his arms and held her tight, whispering soothing words into her hair.

She felt ridiculous for crying but she couldn’t stop herself. Lucius had just told her he loved her and it had hit her like a bolt from the blue. Hermione was in love with him. She had known that for a long time although she hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she had never believed that Lucius would or could feel the same way about her. It seemed so impossible when he was still married, despite the fact that he and Narcissa weren’t romantically involved any longer.

Even with everything that had happened between them she had always thought she was just a plaything for him and eventually he would get bored with her, hence her earlier panic when he had talked about Draco. Now Hermione needed to be back in her room on her own so she could cry out her embarrassment and process what this might mean, but she knew Lucius was never going to let her go tonight.

‘I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing again,’ Lucius said, sounding mortified. ‘I thought you’d be pleased. I thought . . . well, I thought you and I really had something good going on. I thought it was real, not just some quick fling, but if you’d rather I backed off — if you want to stay in your own room—’

Hermione stopped him with a kiss.

‘No. I want to move in here,’ she said wetly. ‘I’m sorry. I was just surprised. I didn’t realise you felt the same way as me.’

Lucius was astounded. ‘Really? I thought I’d made it pretty clear how I feel about you. I know I’ve never told you I love you before but I thought you knew it anyway.’

‘I love you, Lucius. I have done for ages but I couldn’t see how you could ever feel the same way as me. I guess I’ve been expecting you to turn round and tell me it was over ever since I came to Malfoy Manor. That’s why I was so upset by what you said about Draco. I told you, I made my choice and I chose you and there’s no turning back from that, not for me.’

‘Nor me,’ Lucius admitted. ‘I already knew I was in love with you at the Leaky Cauldron. You have no idea how relieved I was when you didn’t leave me that night, and afterwards when you came here. I kept hoping that Narcissa still being here wouldn’t mess things up for us because you always seem so worried about her, even though you know there’s been nothing going on there since the Ice Age.’

‘I’m just trying to think of her feelings, Lucius. Even if there’s nothing between you any longer it must still be difficult for her to see us together,’ Hermione said.

Lucius looked unconvinced. ‘You said it yourself: she’s more worried about Draco than me. Has she tried to warn you off me?’

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, not really. The first day I came down here she mentioned something about me being too young to really know what I want, which I think was directed at my fancying you, but as I said she was more interested in me making a choice and sticking with it, and Draco definitely wasn’t the choice she wanted me to make.’

‘She really doesn’t care about us, Hermione,’ Lucius assured her. ‘Where do you think she is right now? She’s in bed with her lover, and believe me, she’s not thinking about us.’

It was Hermione’s turn to look surprised now, although she had no idea why she was. Hadn’t she wondered only this morning if Narcissa’s friend was a bit more than just a friend?

‘You know she’s got a lover?’

Lucius chuckled. ‘Yes, I know. We’ve never talked about it, just as we’ve never talked about you, but I’ve known for several years that there was someone else, which was good because it made it easier for me to bring you here.’

‘But if she’s seeing someone else and neither of you wants to be together then why don’t you just get a divorce?’ Hermione asked, sounding confused.

‘We will, eventually, especially now I’ve got you. But Narcissa’s lover is married, too, which complicates things a bit,’ Lucius said.

Hermione stared at him. ‘Do you know who he is?’

‘Hmmm, well, I’m not one hundred percent sure but I’m fairly certain I know who it is. It’s been going on for years, long before I took a fancy to you. I think once he takes the plunge and finally leaves his wife it’ll all move very quickly,’ Lucius mused.

‘Can’t you make the first move?’ Hermione asked, not sure she wanted to hear Lucius’ response. He had told her he loved her but not, apparently, enough to divorce his wife.

Lucius considered her question.

‘I suppose I could,’ he admitted, ‘but there hasn’t really been much point until now. Narcissa and I rub along well enough and I don’t mind her living here.’ He paused then added, ‘You know what it would mean if I did initiate divorce proceedings?’

Hermione’s throat had suddenly gone dry and her heart was beating faster.

‘We could get married,’ she whispered.

Lucius nodded. ‘We could, but are you sure you really want to take that step with me, Hermione? You’re still so young and I’m—’ He gave a small snort of a laugh. ‘Who am I kidding? I’m ancient compared to you. Perhaps I _should_ be steering you towards Draco.’

‘Except that it’s you I’m in love with,’ Hermione pointed out. She could feel the worry coalescing again at Lucius’ reluctance to end his association with Narcissa and his even greater reluctance to consider marriage to her.

‘I still have no idea how I got that lucky, especially considering our history,’ Lucius said. ‘I keep thinking eventually you’ll realise it was a mental aberration or something and you’ll run away from me as fast as you can.’

‘That’s not going to happen,’ Hermione assured him. ‘I love you, Lucius, and I have no intention of leaving you. If I go it’ll be because you’ve sent me away.’

‘That’s never going to happen,’ Lucius said staunchly. ‘I don’t ever want to let you go.’ He wrapped his arms around Hermione. ‘I do want to go to sleep, though. I’m knackered.’

Hermione smiled. ‘Poor old man.’

Lucius tickled her, making her squeal.

‘I’ve told you before that I don’t like you calling me old,’ he said a touch petulantly.

‘Even though you are.’ Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and then squealed as he tickled her again. ‘Stop it. That hurts!’

‘I’ll stop tickling you when you stop calling me old,’ Lucius replied.

‘I thought you wanted to go to sleep. There’s no way that’s going to happen if you’re going to keep tickling me. Lucius, please.’

He pulled her close and kissed her. ‘All right, I’ll stop . . . for the time being. Now, let’s go to sleep.’

Hermione curled into him and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Lucius’ arms wrapped around her and the heat of his body. She hoped she could get to sleep, although her mind was working overtime trying to understand why Lucius wouldn’t act — why he was trying to keep her at arm’s length rather than making her his wife.

‘I love you, Hermione,’ Lucius whispered, as he kissed her head.

‘Night, Lucius,’ Hermione replied.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Hermione tried to allay her fears about her relationship with Lucius by throwing herself into her work, and when she did think about it, she tried to remember that he had told her he loved her more than once and had moved her into his bedroom on a permanent basis. That was almost the same as being married — they just didn’t have the piece of paper that proclaimed them to be joined. Hermione had no idea whether Narcissa was aware of the move. If so, the older woman certainly never mentioned it to her.

But when she was feeling particularly down, Hermione’s treacherous brain also pointed out that she had no authority at Malfoy Manor, nor did she have any real security. Narcissa was mistress of the house until such time as she was removed, and if Lucius changed his mind about his relationship with Hermione tomorrow he could throw her out on the street and there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

She didn’t honestly believe he would do that; Lucius’ desire for her seemed genuine enough. But at the same time, it was frustrating to know that if he would just take that first step on the road to divorce she could eventually be the second Mrs Malfoy, something that she wanted so badly it hurt to even think about it.

Then there was Draco. He had so far been back to Malfoy Manor twice since the party, and both times he had spent almost the entire time he was there harassing Hermione. It was so bad that she was beginning to remember why she had detested him so thoroughly at school, although there she had only seen the tip of the iceberg with regard to Draco’s sense of entitlement. Now she was getting the full force of it and she was finding it a hard fought battle that was stopping her from doing her job properly.

Despite several reminders, Draco still wouldn’t accept that Hermione and Lucius were a couple and that she wanted nothing to do with him. He was still working under the misguided delusion that she was deliberately leading him on, trying to stoke his interest in her and that it would only be a matter of time and would take only a sustained period of intense sexual harassment from him and she would change her mind and fall into bed with him.

Hermione had fought him off the first time he had groped her and refused point blank to talk to him for the rest of the time he was there, even at mealtimes when they were with Narcissa and Lucius. She had tried to talk to Lucius about it separately, but he insisted that if she just ignored Draco he would soon get bored and leave her alone. This tactic had not worked, and Draco was subtle enough not to do anything reprehensible when either of his parents was around.

Hermione even tried to broach the subject with Narcissa during one of their occasional afternoon tea sessions, but it soon became clear that the older woman was convinced she was leading Draco on, presumably from conversations she’d had with her son, and Hermione could do nothing to sway her view.

During Draco’s second visit she had almost hexed him. She had taken to ensuring she was carrying her wand at all times just to be on the safe side because Draco really did seem to feel he was entitled to touch her inappropriately at any given opportunity. When slapping and shouting didn’t work, the wand came out. Draco had backed off then, but his manner towards her was becoming ugly because she wouldn’t capitulate and Hermione was actually quite scared of what might happen.

Now, whenever Draco was in the house Hermione didn’t dare go into the stacks for fear of finding herself trapped and unable to escape. This was limiting the work she could do and was holding up the cataloguing, although it did give her time to begin sorting the books she had already logged and she was getting a good idea of the shape the library filing system would take when it was finally completed.

The constant stress was dampening her naturally sunny outlook, and despite several more conversations with Lucius where she told him of her fears, Hermione didn’t feel any safer. Neither Lucius nor Narcissa wanted to believe that their son was a potential rapist and found it easier to write off Hermione’s fears than do something to combat the problem.

When Hermione discovered that Draco was coming home for yet another long weekend she decided she needed to act in the only way left to her: she would have to leave Malfoy Manor. This obviously wasn’t the ideal solution for her, as the manor was now her home — she had long since given up her flat in London — but she felt she had no choice. She wasn’t safe with Draco around as long as his parents ignored his behaviour.

It seemed to Hermione to be the perfect time to make arrangements to visit Hogwarts and discuss her plan for the library cataloguing system with Madam Pince, the school Librarian. Firstly, it gave her a bed for a few days; and secondly, Draco wouldn’t be able to follow her without suspicion being cast upon why he was there.

She tried one last time to convince Lucius and Narcissa to intervene with Draco on her behalf but when neither of them showed any willingness she informed them of her plan to leave. Lucius, in particular, wasn’t very happy and tried his hardest to make her stay, not wanting her to be away from him for any length of time, but Hermione was adamant. Until his parents instilled in Draco the need for him to leave her unmolested she couldn’t reside in the same place as him.

Hermione and Lucius’ first serious argument followed, but Hermione remained undeterred, glad she was leaving the toxic atmosphere that now prevailed at the manor.

And so it was that on the morning of the day that Draco was due to arrive at Malfoy Manor, Hermione left the place she had come to call home for the last seven months to go to a place she had called home for seven years.


	9. Nine

Hermione could never tell whether it was her trip to Hogwarts that had caused the changes at Malfoy Manor or whether they would have happened anyway once the air cleared after her argument with Lucius. Either way she was glad she had left, as when she finally returned almost two weeks later — which was, admittedly, considerably longer than she had originally intended — she had, thanks to the sterling efforts of Madam Pince, a fully completed library cataloguing system plan that would be ready to go as soon as she finished listing the remaining books in the library. And better still, Draco had once more departed back to London.

Lucius was so pleased to see her that Hermione had no trouble believing he really was in love with her and quickly brushed away her unease that she might not be welcome back. He was attentive and loving, and also terribly apologetic for the argument they’d had before she left. He had been worried that she wouldn’t return, particularly when she had stayed away for so long, but it had also made him think seriously about the concerns she had raised about Draco and he had finally realised she had a valid point.

After a serious discussion on the subject with Narcissa, the couple had sat their son down over afternoon tea in the glasshouse and explained to him in no uncertain terms that Hermione was off-limits to both him and anyone else in his group of friends who might be interested. It had taken several hours of discussion, some sulking on Draco’s part, and a massive argument between father and son whilst Narcissa was away ‘shopping’ in London, but finally Draco had been made to see the error of his ways and had accepted, albeit grudgingly, that Hermione was in love with his father and would not, no matter how much he might want to change her mind, be interested in him.

When Hermione voiced her fears about Draco coming back to Malfoy Manor while she was there Lucius was quick to put her mind at ease and promised her she had nothing to fear from his return. Hermione wasn’t entirely sure she believed him but she had to trust he was right, otherwise she would never get the library finished and she might as well end her relationship with Lucius and go back to the Ministry of Magic.

Surprisingly, Narcissa was happy to see her back, too, and requested that Hermione join her for afternoon tea and a catch-up. Hermione unpacked her clothes and spent a couple of extremely satisfying hours reacquainting herself with Lucius’ gorgeous body before making her way to the glasshouse and the usual tasty sandwiches and sumptuous cakes and scones. It had been a while since she had last partaken of Narcissa’s favourite way to spend an afternoon, and she found herself looking forward to it much more than she had expected to.

‘I assume you’re happy to have the afternoon blend?’ Narcissa asked, raising the teapot as Hermione entered the glasshouse.

‘That will be fine,’ Hermione confirmed.

She glanced at a wall of beautiful large flowers in shades varying from white through to brightest orange and almost fluorescent pink that she hadn’t seen before.

Narcissa smiled, seeing the direction of her gaze. ‘They’re various types of hibiscus.’

‘They’re beautiful.’

‘They are, but unfortunately, the flowers don’t last for long. They do make a beautiful wall when they’re all in bloom like that, but by next week it’ll be green again.’

Hermione took her usual seat on the sofa closest to Narcissa and added some milk to the tea the older woman had already poured. She noticed that the cake stand was already on the table, so picked up a plate.

‘Today we’ve got cream cheese and salmon and roast chicken and lemon mayo on brown. There’s also thinly sliced cucumber and egg mayo and cress on white. Finally, there’s a scotch egg using quail eggs if you’re interested,’ Narcissa said, pointing out the various sandwiches.

There was silence as the two women helped themselves to sandwiches. Once they were settled again, Narcissa turned her gimlet gaze on Hermione.

‘You were gone for rather longer than we expected,’ she said almost accusingly.

Hermione inclined her head slightly. ‘I know. I hadn’t realised it would take so long but Madam Pince was really excited about the whole library project, particularly the rare books we have here that aren’t available at Hogwarts. She was extremely thorough and we’ve put together an amazing cataloguing system that I think we can all be proud of once it’s in place.

‘I hope you don’t mind but I’ve told her she can come and visit the library once it’s completed. I know she’s dying to see it.’

‘I’m sure that will be fine. After all the trouble you will have gone to it will be good for it to be appreciated rather than just misused by the Malfoys . . . especially when Lucius is only really interested in the erotic section,’ Narcissa said with a thin smile.

Hermione looked down at her plate at the comment although she couldn’t stifle her smile, either.

There was a short pause while the two women both ate several sandwiches and drank their tea. Hermione suspected that it might be because she knew Narcissa far better now, but there didn’t seem to be the awkward and uncomfortable tension between them that had been there at the first tea party when Lucius had left them alone to talk.

‘I have to admit I’m glad you’re back, Hermione,’ Narcissa confided, sounding sincere. ‘Lucius has been completely unbearable for the last couple of days. I think he thought you had run away and weren’t coming back. ’

‘I don’t know why he thought that. I told him I would only leave here permanently if he asked me to go.’

‘But after the argument you had—’ Narcissa pointed out.

Hermione’s face darkened slightly but she sipped her tea, not wanting to start another altercation.

‘I’m sorry we didn’t take your concerns about Draco more seriously earlier,’ Narcissa said. ‘I assume Lucius told you that we had a discussion with him?’

Hermione nodded. ‘Several, as I understand it.’

‘Yes, well, he was a little difficult to get through to but he is finally on the same page. Hermione, I really am sorry about what he did to you. I was so busy worrying that you were going to lead him on that I didn’t consider that he might be the problem and of course, he assured me he had done nothing wrong.

‘I’ve no idea what Lucius’ excuse was but I’m afraid that mothers are always inclined to believe their own children whatever anyone else might say, particularly when it’s something rather distasteful,’ Narcissa admitted ruefully.

‘Draco and I have _very_ different ideas of what doing nothing wrong means,’ Hermione retorted angrily. ‘I nearly hexed him for what he did to me.’

Narcissa’s face was solemn now. ‘I know, and I honestly don’t blame you at all. As I said, I really am sorry that we didn’t jump in earlier.’

‘How do you know he’s not going to do it again?’ Hermione asked. ‘I mean, it’s easy enough to say you won’t, but actually sticking to it is another matter. He seems to turn into a monster the minute he sees me.’

A small smile crossed Narcissa’s lips and a faint look of amusement entered her eyes. ‘If Draco attempts to do anything with you I think Lucius will kill him, but despite that he’s a reformed character now. He’s not likely to come here much over the next few months, anyway, as he’ll be busy escorting Astoria Greengrass to all manner of parties and suchlike. I think they’re going to make a good couple. She’s rich, intelligent and beautiful and she won’t take any nonsense from him.’

Hermione suspected there was a ‘pureblood’ missing from the list of Astoria’s accomplishments but she let it slide.

‘I don’t think I know Astoria. I do know a Daphne Greengrass, though.’ Hermione’s face twisted into a slight moue of disgust as she thought about the bitchy, ignorant girl who had been a close friend of Pansy Parkinson, Draco’s school girlfriend.

Narcissa confided, ‘Astoria is Daphne’s younger sister. She’s a much nicer girl than Daphne. She was lucky enough not to have Pansy Parkinson for a best friend, for a start.’

Hermione looked surprised. ‘I would have thought Pansy would be your ideal match for Draco.’

Narcissa shook her head vigorously, her face stony. ‘Absolutely not. They may be one of the sacred twenty-eight but the Parkinsons have always been crass little upstarts who married their way into society. I’ll be honest, Hermione: I would actually consider taking a Squib into the family if it kept the Parkinsons away from the manor. I think Draco only went out with Pansy because he knew it would annoy us, but he dropped her almost immediately once he realised what a vicious little viper she was.’

‘Strangely, I sort of understand what you mean. I had all sorts of problems with Pansy when we were at school. Originally, I thought it was because Draco was putting her up to it, but eventually, I realised that she just had a really unpleasant personality and couldn’t help but be a real bitch. Between her, Daphne and Millicent Bulstrode there was enough nastiness going on to put anyone off Slytherin girls,’ Hermione sympathised.

‘I understand Draco and Astoria hooked up at that weekend party he invited you to — I think you were right that it was a bit of a cattle market — but he didn’t really consider her properly until after our little talk with him,’ Narcissa told her. ‘I think he realised that he could do much worse than her, especially if he left it too long, and once he realised he was never going to get anywhere with you, he sent Astoria an owl inviting her out to dinner — and the rest, as they say, is history. Hopefully, she’ll keep him busy with various engagements for long enough for him to completely get you out of his system, and the next time he comes home she’ll probably be with him.’

‘It sounds like she’s just what he needs,’ Hermione replied, finally relaxing completely. ‘I knew what that party would be like, especially with all those Slytherin girls there desperately trying to get Draco to notice them. I don’t think he realised what danger I would have been in if he had taken me along. Those girls stop at nothing to get what they want. I remember what they were like with each other at school, and it wasn’t pretty.’

Narcissa smiled wistfully. ‘I would love to see Draco settle down in the next year or so. Obviously, I’d love him to get married and start a family of his own, but just knowing he was settled and happy would be enough.’

‘Well, it sounds like Astoria is a real possibility. You just have to give it time,’ Hermione said.

Narcissa poured them another cup of tea as a house-elf appeared and replaced the now-empty sandwich stand with one containing delicious-looking cakes and pastries.

‘I actually wanted to talk to you about something I haven’t yet discussed with Lucius,’ Narcissa said as Hermione took a bite of a small cake that consisted of chocolate mousse on a dark chocolate cake base with a raspberry on top.

Hermione gazed at her interestedly, wondering what she wanted to say. She didn’t get a vibe that it was anything critical of her or Lucius so maybe it was nothing to do with their relationship, but she and Narcissa weren’t exactly bosom buddies and she couldn’t imagine the older woman confiding in her.

Narcissa took a sip of her tea, then put her cup back on the saucer. With a smile, she said, ‘I wanted to thank you for your efforts to keep your relationship with Lucius private while you’ve been here, Hermione.

‘You know I don’t have a problem with it and I’ve told you before that I wanted you to be open about it rather than skulking around causing gossip but knowing how Lucius feels about you, you could have come in here and taken over — you could have made my life here extremely uncomfortable. Instead, you’ve acted with dignity and discretion and I really appreciate it.

‘I know it must be hard sometimes — Lucius is nothing if not flamboyant and I’m sure he wants you to make your presence better known here — and I applaud you for reining him in. I know it can’t be easy. But to be honest, I’ve misjudged you. I thought you would come here throwing your weight around, the young girl declaring herself ‘lady of the manor’, no doubt buoyed by untruths told by my errant husband. But you’ve shown yourself to be true and loyal and I’ve become very fond of you.’

Hermione looked at Narcissa in astonishment.

Narcissa gave a deprecating chuckle. ‘After everything I said to you when you first arrived it almost pains me to admit that I would be happy to have you as my daughter-in-law if you wanted to go that way with Draco, although I know that’s not going to happen now. I have seen you and Lucius together — I know you try to keep things private but that’s not always possible — and I’ve seen the way you look at him, the way he looks at you. I see the way you act together and I see something between you that Lucius and I never had, even when we first got married and tried to make a go of things.’

Hermione could feel herself blushing as Narcissa talked. ‘I’m sorry if you’ve seen anything you shouldn’t. I have tried—’

Narcissa brushed away her comment with a wave of her hand. ‘As I said, you’ve been far more discreet than I expected.’ Seeing that Hermione was embarrassed she added, ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t seen you doing anything sexual, just some tender romantic moments that made me realise just how deeply you and Lucius care for each other . . . and what a good match you are.’

She seemed to be considering something as she picked up a purple macaron and examined it before taking a bite. Her face lit up. ‘Violet. I love the taste of violet but it so rarely appears at tea tables these days. Neither does rose.’ She pointed to the pink macaron that still sat on the china cake stand. ‘I expect that one is rose if you want to try it.’

Hermione reached out to take the macaron, placing it on her plate before she picked up her tea once more.

‘Hermione, I don’t know whether Lucius talks to you much about the state of our relationship — outside of assuring you that there is no relationship, that is.’ Narcissa studied her for a few seconds, then continued, ‘I’ll tell you a secret that very few people know. Lucius and I didn’t really want to get married but our fathers were keen to see the ancient and noble house of Black and the equally ancient and aristocratic house of Malfoy joined — a strong union that would benefit both families. We both railed against it, of course, but to no avail. That didn’t really make for an auspicious start so it’s not all that surprising that the marriage fell apart, although we did try for a few years — hence the arrival of Draco.’

Narcissa took a breath as if to steady herself, then said, ‘I don’t know if you’re aware but I’ve been having an affair, too.’

Hermione wasn’t sure how Narcissa would react if she discovered Lucius had mentioned it to her. She was loath to lose the new-found friendship that seemed to be emerging so she kept her expression non-committal but interested, not revealing anything. Narcissa gave a small nod as if she had expected it.

‘The gentleman with whom I’m involved was my boyfriend at school — we had actually been hoping to get married until my father and Abraxas Malfoy came up with their bloody awful plan. Instead, I ended up with pretty-boy Lucius and Barney ended up marrying another girl in my year, a wet fish called Letitia Fawley.

‘We both tried to make our marriages work but by the time Draco started at Hogwarts the small amount of affection there might have been between Lucius and me was long gone, and the same for Barney. With Draco away at school and Lucius spending as much time as possible elsewhere doing Merlin only knew what, it gave me a lot of free time, and eventually Barney and I drifted back together.

‘We never set out to have an affair,’ Narcissa said, almost as if trying to assure Hermione. ‘Although I knew Lucius was probably off having sex here, there, and everywhere I was more interested in companionship — someone to talk to. With Draco gone I was lonely. Barney and I began meeting for lunch occasionally — just to catch up, really, but as the years went on . . . well, you know . . . things sort of evolved.’

Hermione nodded to show she understood. Narcissa picked up the teapot and swirled it to judge how much was left in there, then brandished it in Hermione’s direction. Hermione waved her hand to decline the offer and watched as Narcissa poured herself another cup.

‘Now things have moved on again. Lucius has found you, and Barney’s youngest daughter has just left Hogwarts, so he’s decided it’s time for us to move on with our lives.’ Her voice dropped to just above a whisper now. ‘As I said, I haven’t told Lucius yet but I’m going to be asking for a divorce as soon as possible. I don’t expect Lucius to protest, far from it. But I thought you might be reassured to know, Hermione. I can imagine it must be rather unsettling for you being here, with Lucius and me still married and showing no sign of ever getting a divorce.’

Hermione found herself flushing again. ‘I have to admit I have wondered about it. I did suggest to Lucius once that he start the divorce process but he didn’t seem too keen.’ She gave a small, sad chuckle. ‘I don’t think he wants to marry me.’

‘Well, that’s definitely not true,’ Narcissa asserted. ‘Maybe he’s feeling insecure because of your age, worried that you might change your mind about him in a few years. Everyone’s already going to think you’re the trophy wife so he’s probably being careful.’

She saw Hermione’s face turn glum at her words and added sympathetically, ‘He was also probably thinking of me. We may not be romantically involved but we’ve always got on well enough. He obviously knows about Barney and knew he wasn’t going to leave his wife while the children were still at school. Divorce before then would have left me disenfranchised and he wouldn’t do that to me. I am the mother of his son and heir, after all.

‘I don’t think you need worry about Lucius. As soon as he realises he’s free again he’ll make you his wife, I’ve no doubt of that.’ Narcissa smiled at Hermione.

Hermione looked back, her heart pattering at the thought that things were finally changing. She wasn’t as certain as the older woman that Lucius would marry her, he hadn’t seemed keen to commit to that, but at least there was hope. If nothing else, with Narcissa gone she would be the one in charge of Malfoy Manor, and that was a start.

‘So will you be moving away?’ Hermione asked, hoping the question came across as interested rather than pushy.

Narcissa nodded as she swallowed her tea. ‘Yes. Barney’s family have extensive property on Jersey. It’s been a couple of generations since they’ve used the place for anything other than a holiday home, but we’re intending to take it over permanently and restore it back to its former glory. He’s going to let Letitia and the children keep the house in Sherringham while we take advantage of the clement weather and beautiful views.’

‘It sounds lovely,’ Hermione admitted.

‘Once we’re all settled we shall invite you and Lucius to come and stay,’ Narcissa said with a smile.

Hermione felt a small tingle run through her body at those words, at the knowledge that she and Lucius were finally going to be together properly and without a need to keep it quiet some time in the near future.

‘I won’t say anything to Lucius,’ she assured Narcissa.

‘I was really trying to reassure you, Hermione. I will be telling him but I’m waiting to get the all-clear signal from Barney first. He’s got far more to sort out, and although we’re not anticipating Letitia causing a problem either it’s best to wait until things are proceeding properly at his end before I begin the process. But don’t worry, as soon as I know everything’s on track I’ll talk to Lucius straight away and get the divorce underway.’ She considered for a moment, then added, ‘Just think, by the time you finish it the library will be yours.’

‘If Lucius doesn’t decide to enjoy his freedom elsewhere,’ Hermione pointed out.

‘Don’t be so gloomy. Lucius loves you, anyone can see that. He’ll marry you, just wait and see.’ Narcissa indicated the cake stand. ‘Do you want another cake?’

Hermione put her hand on her stomach, giving a slight grimace. ‘No. I’m absolutely stuffed. I’m not sure I’m going to be hungry enough for dinner.’

‘A couple of martinis will soon give you an appetite,’ Narcissa suggested as she reached out to take a mini Victoria sponge.

Hermione wasn’t sure Narcissa was right but felt no need to argue the point with her.   


	10. Ten

Hermione smiled jovially as she looked around the warm kitchen, her hands wrapped around a mug of steaming tea. She had joined the Weasleys and Harry for Sunday lunch at the Burrow and was soaking up the familiar atmosphere and smells, enjoying hearing her friends bicker and joke while the matriarch, the indomitable Molly Weasley, bustled around ensuring everyone was well-fed and watered.

Lucius hadn’t been keen on her going at first but Hermione had pointed out that she hadn’t seen her friends at all since taking the job at Malfoy Manor and they were beginning to worry that something nefarious had befallen her at the hands of the traitorous Malfoys. She needed to show her face to prove that she was still alive.

He had scowled fiercely at her suggestion, although she had been quick to add that she was only joking — but the point was made and Hermione was given leave to go on a date which, somewhat fortuitously, coincided with Barney’s announcement that his divorce agreement was just about settled. Hermione knew Narcissa would discuss her desire for a divorce with her husband while she was out of the way; her absence would give them the perfect opportunity to work things out.

The meal at the Burrow was the sort of wonderful homemade stick-to-the-ribs comfort food that Hermione hadn’t experienced in a long time, certainly not since taking up residence at Malfoy Manor where rather more refined fare was the order of the day. She felt a sense of peace and total relaxation that she had forgotten she could feel in the rather uptight world of the pureblood aristocracy. It seemed crazy that the Weasleys were every bit as pure as the Malfoys yet their entire existence was completely opposite in every way.

The large and extremely boisterous red-headed family crammed themselves into the higgledy-piggledy gravity-defying dwelling called the Burrow. The house was always overcrowded to bursting point when the siblings descended en masse to visit their parents, bringing their spouses and children and sometimes other friends with them. It gave Molly a headache worrying about how she was going to fit everyone around the dinner table and had Arthur wishing he could disappear off to find some peace and quiet in the shed that housed all his Muggle artefacts, including a flying car that Harry and Ron had once illegally used to get to school.

In contrast, the three Malfoys and now Hermione, along with a myriad of house-elves who kept the place running with military precision, knocked around in a massive manor house that would have easily accommodated all the Weasleys with space to spare. Even now, Hermione still didn’t think it was fair that the Weasleys were so poor when the Malfoys, who were distantly related to them, were absolutely drowning in their wealth.

Harry and Ron had been overjoyed to finally see her in the flesh again after almost nine months of conversing only by letter. The three of them had gone for a walk immediately on Hermione’s arrival, wanting to spend some time alone together before the rest of the family intruded too much. They decided to walk to the village of Ottery St Catchpole and back, a good appetite builder for the massive lunch ahead.

Hermione spent most of the walk down to the village telling her friends enthusiastically about her new job, painting extravagant word pictures of the magnificent house and gardens and the stunningly decorated rooms that lay within Malfoy Manor. Then she talked at length about the library, outlining in probably far more detail than was necessary for Ron and Harry the plan she and Madam Pince had worked so hard on and identifying many of the rare books that were housed there.

During this monologue, she somehow neglected to mention the copious amounts of erotica also to be found in the library, just as she completely forgot to mention both her relationship with Lucius and the problems she’d had with Draco.

It wasn’t that Hermione didn’t want her friends to know about these things, but the presence of the erotica in the library would have overshadowed all else for her still somewhat juvenile friends, and explaining to them about Lucius was going to take some careful timing — which definitely wasn’t today. On the subject of Draco, Hermione was prepared to wait until after she saw him again to decide whether or not to share what had happened between them, although she had already told everyone that he was in a relationship with Astoria.

On the return journey, Harry and Ron took over the storytelling duties, mainly to stop Hermione talking about her bloody library any further, but also to recount what was happening with them. It seemed that Harry and Ginny had finally set a date for their wedding — it was to be the following July — and Ron had joined an amateur Quidditch club in his spare time, once again reprising his role as Keeper. Harry also confided, much to Ron’s embarrassment, that their friend had been spending a considerable amount of time in the company of Susan Bones, and that despite his protestations that he was still young, free and single it looked like Ron’s days as a bachelor could soon be over.  

By the time they got back to the Burrow, amidst talk of Neville’s decision to join Hogwarts as a Herbology professor and Luna’s new relationship with Rolf Scamander, the grandson of the famous magizoologist, Newt Scamander — causing Ron to wonder loudly whether she was going to finally find the famed Crumple-Horned Snorkack — and with interspersions from Hermione about gossip she had picked up on various teachers at Hogwarts during her time there, they were ready for their lunch and were soon subsumed into the general melee that was the Weasley family at home.

Lunch now over, Hermione watched as group by small group all the members of the family left the kitchen, eager to duck out of the huge amount of washing up that waited. Harry and Ron immediately disappeared off to the lounge to sleep off their meal, while the younger members of the family happily played around their feet.

Hermione waited, glad to help Molly with the cleaning up, and she sipped her tea as the older woman bustled around the room sorting herself out. Once her surrogate mother had placed herself at the sink, washing the glasses as the hot water streamed into the bowl with curls of steam rising, Hermione jumped up, added her now empty mug to the pile by the sink, and grabbed a tea towel.

Molly smiled at her fondly. ‘You don’t have to help, Hermione. Why don’t you go and join the others?’

Hermione grinned back as she dried a wine glass and walked it over to a clean area of the work surface before returning to the draining board for another glass.

‘I’m happy to help, Mrs Weasley. It stops me from being sluggish after eating so much, and anyway I enjoy drying up. I always used to help my father after Sunday lunch. He and I washed up after my mother cooked it.’

‘I suppose you don’t get to do much of that at Malfoy Manor, do you?’ Molly asked.

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, they have house-elves to do all the housework. I found that really difficult at first because as you know, I’ve always had a problem with how they’re treated, particularly the Malfoy house-elves — Dobby was treated abominably by Lucius. But actually, they’ve completely changed the way they interact with them, just as they have with everyone, I suppose. The elves are now far better treated, and just like the ones at Hogwarts, it’s clear that they really enjoy working there.

‘I did manage to convince Lucius to offer them wages and holidays but that was a step too far, for the time being, anyway. I will get him to follow up on it later, once they’ve had a chance to get used to the idea.’

‘You seem to have settled in well,’ Molly commented.

‘I have, actually. The house and grounds are a wonderful place to live; I feel extremely fortunate to have got the job. The library itself is completely astonishing in both its size and breadth of written work. It’s like a dream come true for me, working with all those rare books, cataloguing and reading them. I honestly can’t think of a better place for me to be at the moment.’

‘Do they have a lot of Dark arts material?’ Molly asked interestedly.

Hermione chuckled. ‘I have only come across a couple of bits since I’ve been there. Lucius told me they used to have a lot but he got rid of as much of it as he could find, some when the Ministry started clamping down and the rest just after the war.’

Molly’s eyes narrowed a little at this as if she couldn’t imagine Lucius Malfoy handing over any proscribed material.

‘And how are you getting on with the Malfoys? Are they treating you okay?’

‘They’ve really changed,’ Hermione told her. ‘Lucius already had before the war. If you remember, he rescued me when I got captured by the Death Eaters. Narcissa went over to Harry’s side during the battle at Hogwarts and helped him to get to the castle. Even Draco changed sides — actually, from what Harry said about the night of Professor Dumbledore’s death I think he had changed his mind then.

‘They are really nice, though. They never treat me in any way different from any of their other friends. Nothing is said about me being a Muggle-born, not even an undercurrent. They are also impressed by my qualifications and my burgeoning librarian skills despite my never having done the job before, so I’m not treated like staff either, even though I do work for them. It’s just a bit weird getting used to having things like afternoon tea. It’s nice but weird.’

Molly nodded. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear they’re treating you well, Hermione. I have to admit I was a little worried when I heard you were going there, knowing their strong anti-Muggle stance. It’s good to know that they’re actively trying to change, as well, rather than just pretending and then carrying on in the same mean way they’ve always done.’ Looking slightly remonstrative, she added, ‘We haven’t seen much of you since you took the job, though. They’re certainly keeping you locked away.’

‘That’s partially my own fault,’ Hermione admitted ruefully. ‘The library really is massive; it’s almost as big as the Hogwarts library.’ Molly looked surprised at this fact. ‘Once I started working on it I sort of got sucked in, and I’m relentless — I can’t stop until I get it finished. Lucius is always complaining because I don’t go outside enough, apparently. There are horses to ride, and the gardens are beautiful, but even when I’m out there or doing something else in the manor I’m always planning the library in my mind, so I don’t really ever stop.

‘I hadn’t even realised I had been there so long until I went to Hogwarts to see Madam Pince. That was when I discovered that I hadn’t left the grounds for seven months. Then I was back from the school, putting my plan into action, and suddenly, poof, another two months have disappeared. It’s crazy how quickly time goes. It won’t be long before it’s Christmas at this rate.’

‘I hope all that work isn’t going to end up making you ill,’ Molly said.

Hermione laughed. ‘You’ve got to be joking. I’m in my element and feeling better than I ever have done. It’s so great when you get to the end of a bookshelf you’ve been listing, or you realise you’ve just stumbled across a really rare book that might even be the only copy left in the world, and then it’s in mint condition, too. It’s just amazing and you never know what each day might bring.’

Although Hermione sounded happy enough, Molly couldn’t help but frown. Everything Hermione was saying spoke to her of locking herself away from the outside world and she was sure it wouldn’t do the girl any good in the long run. If nothing else, being stuck at Malfoy Manor was ruining her chance of finding a boyfriend.

‘It sounds to me like you need to get out a bit more,’ Molly suggested tactfully. ‘Perhaps you should leave Malfoy Manor at weekends and go out with your friends, get to know some new people.’

‘I live at Malfoy Manor now. I gave up the flat in London once I knew I was going to stay in the job,’ Hermione said.

‘But that’s no good for getting to know people. How can you be expected to form relationships when you’re stuck in that mausoleum of a place all the time? It’s not like you can take people back there, is it?’

‘I see plenty of people. It’s not like I’m stuck in the library on my own all the time. I spend time with Narcissa, usually in the glasshouse which is full of the beautiful exotic plants she likes to grow. We have afternoon tea there. I spend even more time with Lucius as he’s always coming in to see how the cataloguing is going, and then there are all their friends who come to visit regularly. I even see Draco. He quite often pops down to the house at weekends, although he’s a bit busy with his new girlfriend at the moment.’ She grinned.

‘And when are you going to get a boyfriend?’ Molly demanded.

Hermione felt suddenly as if she was under scrutiny, and she didn’t like it. She could tell Molly about Lucius, but considering the vibe she had picked up from the older woman regarding the Malfoys she had the feeling the news wouldn’t go down too well.

‘I don’t really need a boyfriend at the moment. I’m far too busy doing a job I love.’

‘Getting a life is more important than an interesting job,’ Molly opined, ‘and you need to get a move on, Hermione, you’re not getting any younger. The longer it takes you to find a man, the less chance you’ll have of having a happy and fulfilling life.’

‘What you saying?’ Hermione asked in horror. ‘Are you calling me an old maid? I’m only twenty-three.’

‘I’m just saying it as I see it,’ Molly said. ‘Why are you wasting time locking yourself away in Malfoy Manor when you could be looking for a husband?’

Hermione sighed, not sure why she had to justify herself. ‘I told you, it’s a very good job and it’s extremely interesting. It’s an extraordinary project for someone of my age to take on and it’s what I want to do. At the moment I have no interest in getting a boyfriend. It’s not something that’s important to me. This project is.’

‘Well, I don’t think it’s right for you to be hiding yourself away like that,’ Molly said. ‘I know you were upset when you and Ronald split up, but you can’t lock yourself away forever, you know. As I said to Ron, you have to get back out there. Don’t stop looking because of one failure. You never know when the right person will come along — but they won’t if you’re locked away in Malfoy Manor.’

Hermione stared at her, open-mouthed with shock. ‘What? You think I’m hiding in Malfoy Manor because of my split with Ron? That couldn’t be any further from the truth. I’m not hiding, I’m just working.’

‘In a place that keeps you locked away. You need to get out of there and find yourself a man before it’s too late,’ Molly pointed out judgementally.

‘Too late for what?’ Hermione wondered loudly. Still fuming with indignation, she retorted, ‘Actually, for your information, Mrs Weasley, I don’t need a man in order to effectively live my life. I’m an independent woman not a doormat.’

Molly snorted. ‘It’s all very well being independent, Hermione, but that’s no good to you when you’re old and all alone without any children or grandchildren to give your life meaning. Where will your job be then? Where will all those books be? They can’t give you any comfort or love. They’re just things, just belongings. You’ll be sitting in a small room in some nursing home surrounded by all your precious books and you’ll be lonely because you won’t have any human comfort.’

Moderating her tone considerably as she realised she might have gone a little too far, she added, ‘Look, I know your heart took a bit of a battering, Hermione, but that’s no reason to hide yourself away in that dusty old pile. Get out of there and back into society and find yourself a new boyfriend. You’ll feel so much better for it.’

Hermione could feel herself about to growl in frustration. Instead, she gritted her teeth and counted to ten, her hands clenched into fists as she willed the anger to drain away.

‘Have you ever thought that maybe Malfoy Manor is exactly where I should be?’ she asked quietly, her voice shaking with the effort of trying to stay calm.

Molly looked at her in surprise. ‘Are you saying that you’re there for Draco Malfoy? I thought you said he was in a relationship with someone called Astoria. Are you saying that really you’re this Astoria woman?’

Hermione started laughing. It was high and just on the verge of being hysterical. She shook her head. ‘No . . . no, of course not. Astoria is a real person and Draco is definitely not my boyfriend.’

Molly stared at her in confusion. ‘I—I don’t understand, Hermione. If Draco isn’t—’

‘There are more people living at Malfoy Manor than just Draco Malfoy, you know,’ Hermione said, cutting her off.

She watched Molly’s face change from confusion to surprise as she pondered Hermione’s words. Then, slowly, she shook her head as she came to a conclusion she obviously didn’t like.

‘Not Lucius?’ she asked quietly, her expression pleading with Hermione to confirm that it wasn’t the vicious ex-Death Eater. ‘Please, Hermione. Tell me it’s not Lucius Malfoy.’

‘Bingo!’ Hermione said triumphantly, a rictus of a smile now on her face.

Molly shook her head again as if this would change the outcome. She was visibly upset at the news.

‘Hermione, you can’t . . . not Lucius Malfoy.’

Hermione smirked nastily but then asked sweetly, ‘Why not, Mrs Weasley?’

‘You know what he’s like,’ Molly warned, still sounding shell-shocked. ‘You know what he’s done.’

‘Yes! I know him better than any of you, I think. I live with him, you don’t,’ Hermione told her. 

Molly shook her head. ‘Hermione, please. You’ll be making a big mistake if you get involved with Lucius Malfoy. He’s not who you think he is. I promise you, whatever he’s telling you, whatever he’s promising you, he’s lying. He’s mean and evil and he hurts people. He will hurt you if you give him the opportunity.

‘Don’t you see, Hermione, all this stuff about him changing, it’s all rubbish. He’s just pretending to draw you in and then, once you’re in his grasp, the trap will go off and you won’t be able to get away. You won’t be able to stop him, whatever he decides to do, and knowing Lucius it won’t be anything good.’

‘I’m not listening to you. I know Lucius has changed, whereas _you_ don’t know anything about him because you haven’t seen him for Merlin knows how long. You have no right to talk about him like that.’ Hermione waved her hand dismissively.

Molly grabbed Hermione’s hands, holding onto them as she tried again.

‘I know enough about Lucius Malfoy to know he’s a liar, and a smooth-tongued one at that, Hermione. Whatever he’s telling you isn’t true. I’d like to believe he’s changed for your sake, but I’m sorry, I just can’t see it. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, especially one who was a Death Eater twice and managed to get away with it both times.’

‘Lucius loves me,’ Hermione stated.

Molly looked truly distraught at this news. ‘Whatever he’s telling you it’s not true, Hermione. You’re too young to understand the pain this man could put you through, which is why I’m trying to warn you. What do your parents say about this union? I can’t believe, knowing the sensible sort of people they are, that they would be happy about you tying yourself to a Death Eater. I’m begging you, please don’t willingly put yourself in his hands. Walk away. Free yourself before it’s too late.’

Hermione shook her head looking sadly at Molly. ‘Lucius loves me and I love him. He really isn’t the man you think he is. He isn’t a Death Eater and hasn’t been one for a long time. He’s moved on, even if you can’t . . . or won’t. As for my parents, they’ll just be happy that I’ve found someone who cares for me as much as they do — they’re not blinded by prejudice, having not been a part of the war. I’m sorry this news has shocked you so badly but I have no intention of leaving either Lucius or the job, and I know I’m going to be fine, despite what you think.’

‘If nothing else, he’s a married man old enough to be your father,’ Molly pointed out disapprovingly.

Hermione shrugged. ‘Love doesn’t have an age, Mrs Weasley. I don’t care how old he is. He isn’t married either, not really. Do you honestly think Narcissa would allow me to live there with him if they were still a couple? She knows all about us and she approves.’

Molly just kept shaking her head, looking disconsolate, seemingly unable to say anything more. Hermione patted her arm lightly.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. I really didn’t mean to, but you’ve honestly got Lucius all wrong. You have to trust me on this.’ She put down the tea towel. ‘I think it’s time I went home. I’m just going to go and say goodbye to the others.’

Molly dropped into a chair and watched Hermione as she left the room, still shaking her head in disbelief. She couldn’t understand how the girl had been so effectively brainwashed by Lucius and his family. Hermione obviously believed that Lucius was in love with her, and she was in love with him, too, so she had said, but it just wasn’t possible.

However hard she tried, Molly just couldn’t see Lucius being able to redeem himself that much, whatever Hermione thought. There was too much in Lucius’ background and his family tree that spoke against him being able to change his views so completely, however much of a good front he might put up. After all, Lucius had always been an excellent actor — two failed Death Eater trials proved that if nothing else.

Hermione’s comment about Narcissa was certainly intriguing, but then the woman had been almost as bad as her sister, that bitch Bellatrix Lestrange, so she couldn’t be trusted either. She was no doubt colluding with Lucius to ensnare Hermione, and then Merlin only knew what they were going to do to her. The silly girl seemed to have forgotten the bad feeling between her and the Malfoys during her time at school, but Molly bet they hadn’t and were just biding their time before they would pay her back for having the temerity to be better at magic than their own pureblood son.

She was still sitting there when Hermione came back carrying her cloak. Molly looked at her in distress but didn’t say anything, knowing there was no point.

Hermione gave her a weak smile that she didn’t really feel. ‘Thank you for the lovely lunch, Mrs Weasley. I really appreciate you inviting me. Please don’t worry about me, I’m going to be fine — honestly, I will. You’ll see.’

She wrapped her cloak around her and then opened the back door and stepped outside into the late autumn evening. Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself, enjoying the smell of distant bonfires and crisp autumn leaves, then using her wand she Apparated back to Malfoy Manor.


	11. Eleven

‘What’s the matter, love?’ Lucius sounded concerned as he voiced the question.

He wrapped his arms around Hermione, pulling her closer. He was worried about her. She had been in a strange mood ever since returning from the Burrow and she had refused to talk to him about it. It had affected their lovemaking, too, which had been distinctly lacklustre this evening. Lucius wished he could discover what had happened and find a way to put it right but he needed to do so without losing his temper, particularly with Hermione’s friends, those blasted Weasleys she adored so much.

Lucius had some important news to share with her and an even more important question to ask but he needed Hermione to be in the right frame of mind otherwise, she might give the wrong answer and that would be disastrous.

Hermione sighed expressively but didn’t say anything.

‘Come on, Hermione, talk to me,’ Lucius cajoled. ‘I know you’re not happy and I know it must have been something that happened while you were at the Burrow because you were fine when you left this morning.’ He paused for a moment, then added, ‘You know you can tell me anything, don’t you? I won’t get annoyed, whatever it is. I promise.’

Hermione shook her head as if to refuse but then said, ‘Mrs Weasley was quite harsh with me earlier. I know I’m probably just being stupid but it really upset me because I’ve always got on well with her previously — she was almost like a second mother to me.’

‘What did she say to you?’ Lucius asked.

Another sigh. ‘She seems to be under the impression that I only took the library job because I was still upset at splitting up with Ron, and that I was using it as a bolt hole to hide away from the world.’

‘ _Is_ that the reason you took the job?’ Lucius asked.

Hermione glared at him. ‘You know it isn’t. Ron and I were only a couple for a short while in the immediate aftermath of the war. It didn’t take us long to discover that we really weren’t suited to each other. He’s more like my brother — him and Harry. By the time of your trial we had already separated, and I certainly wasn’t looking to lock myself away.’

‘So was I a rebound shag, then?’ Lucius asked in amusement.

‘No, you weren’t.’ Hermione sounded vexed. ‘I shagged you because I fancied you.’

Lucius squeezed her. He was grinning happily. ‘Well, that’s good to know, anyway.’

‘Mrs Weasley pretty much said that I was an old maid,’ Hermione blurted out, still angry at what had been said. ‘She thinks I should be out looking for a husband, not locking myself away in a dusty old library. I tried to tell her I was enjoying my job but she was having none of it.’

‘You have to remember that Molly comes from a different era,’ Lucius told her soothingly. ‘For her, getting married and having a family _is_ the best thing you can do. She did it herself and she’s been extraordinarily successful at it. Obviously, she cares about you, Hermione, and she wants the best for you. For her, that’s the husband and family that have given her so much fulfilment over the years.’

After a little more coaxing Hermione grudgingly acknowledged that this might be true, but then she said, ‘I was so fed up with her preaching that I told her about us — about you.’

She half expected Lucius to be angry at her indiscretion, but instead, he just looked amused.

‘Merlin’s beard, no wonder she wasn’t very happy with you. I can’t imagine she was overly pleased to discover who your lover was.’

‘No, she wasn’t,’ Hermione admitted. ‘She said you were a liar and that you would only end up hurting me. I tried to point out that I know what you’re like, especially as I’m living with you, but she just couldn’t accept that you might have changed and that I know what I’m doing . . . and more to the point, that what I’m doing is the right thing for me at the moment.’

‘She’s just trying to protect you. Molly feels responsible for you — and you have to remember that things have been rather strained between our families for a long time so it’s not really surprising she doesn’t trust me. I haven’t really ever given her any reason to. It’s been years since I last saw her,’ Lucius said.

‘But she’s not willing to consider, even for one minute, that I might be right and you might have changed. It’s extremely frustrating,’ Hermione retorted, still angry.

Lucius shrugged and said mildly, ‘I wouldn’t worry about it. Molly’s opinion doesn’t really count for much with us, does it?’

Hermione shook her head but she still looked unhappy. ‘No one’s going to understand about us, though, are they?’

‘Do you care?’ Lucius sounded casual, as if he wasn’t bothered, hoping this might relax Hermione.

She shrugged, too, trying to pretend she didn’t care, but Lucius could see she was still upset and knew it was bothering her more than he had realised. He pulled her close and squeezed her tightly, kissing the top of her head as he held her.

‘It’s obviously very flattering that you’re willing to get so indignant on my behalf, Hermione, but I don’t want you falling out with your friends over it. This is a new situation for all of us and it’s going to take a bit of getting used to. I fully expected and understood that the Malfoys were going to have to prove themselves after our position in the war, as I’m sure Narcissa and Draco did, too. It’s understandable that people aren’t going to trust us straight away, especially when some enmities have been running for several decades.

‘It would be lovely if everyone just accepted that we have changed, of course it would, but unfortunately you and I both know the real world doesn’t work like that. There will always be suspicion of our motives, whatever we do. With those people — and yet again, unfortunately, they tend to be the ones we’re closest to — it’s going to take a little longer and take a bit more work to convince, particularly as we’re dealing with something so personal in this instance.’

Hermione still looked miserable. ‘But they’re not even willing to give you a chance, Lucius. That’s what annoys me.’

Lucius gave her a small smile and hugged her again. ‘Ah, but once again, my love, it’s all about perception. It’s not really such a surprise that people would question the motives of a middle-aged man involved in a relationship with a much younger woman, particularly as you are so young — not much older than a child in the eyes of people like Molly and Arthur, who you’ve just said are like parents to you. Add to that the fact that the man in question used to be a Death Eater and held strongly negative views about Muggles and their magical offspring and that the woman is Muggle-born and it’s easy to see why suspicion abounds.

‘However you may feel, there are two issues working against us here — my reputation and your age. There are very few people who won’t have an opinion about one of them and many will be suspicious of both. There is no way we can fight them with words; you’ve already seen for yourself that trying to convince people verbally makes no difference whatsoever.

‘It’s our actions that will speak loudest for us, Hermione, our actions that will show Molly and everyone else who worries about you that you were right. When we’ve been married for fifty years and got a dozen children, maybe they’ll stop worrying about you so hard and realise that I really do love you.’

‘Fifty years. That’s a laugh. At this rate we’ll be lucky if we ever get married,’ Hermione said automatically, her voice bitter.

Lucius frowned. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘I know you don’t want to marry me, Lucius. Remember when I suggested you might want to think about getting a divorce — you didn’t want to, and you questioned whether us getting married was the right thing for me to do. I don’t mind if you don’t want to marry me . . . not really, but I just wish you’d be honest with me about it and not try to use my age as an excuse not to do it.’

Lucius studied her quietly for almost a minute as he debated what to say.

‘That’s really what you think, is it?’ he asked quietly.

Hermione gave a small, sad nod. Her eyes were watery with unshed tears that Lucius was sure were about to break free, whatever he said to her.

‘Well, that makes what I was going to say next a little bit tricky,’ he said.

Lucius saw Hermione’s face freeze, a look of pure panic on it.

‘Hermione, will you marry me?’

Hermione thought her heart had stopped beating as panic overwhelmed her. Lucius was going to confirm that he didn’t want her to be his wife; that he had only been playing with her, that his comment about the fifty years and the dozen children was a joke. Suddenly his words broke into her mind, almost foreign, as they weren’t what she was expecting at all.

She stared at him, dumbfounded. ‘What did you say?’

Lucius’ felt his heart patter with trepidation as he waited for Hermione’s response, her face giving away nothing of her feelings about what he had just asked her. Her question confused him; he was unable to understand why she hadn’t heard him the first time and why she wasn’t saying yes.

Oh gods, perhaps she was going to reject him? Lucius had no idea what he would do if that happened. Since she came back to him at the Leaky Cauldron he had never once envisaged a world where Hermione wasn’t part of his life . . . wasn’t the whole of his life.

He realised she was staring at him, waiting for him to repeat the question. He took hold of her hand and stroked it gently as he spoke.

‘Will you marry me, Hermione?’

‘I thought that’s what you said but I couldn’t believe you really had,’ Hermione replied.

Lucius looked at her, still waiting for her answer.

‘You’ve only asked me because I was so upset, haven’t you?’ she demanded.

Lucius deflated, not sure why everything suddenly seemed to be going completely wrong.

‘Of course that’s not the reason,’ he said, perturbed.

‘You didn’t really want to marry me but because I was upset by Mrs Weasley it’s made you feel guilty or something, so you asked me,’ Hermione accused her voice hollow.

‘That’s not it at all,’ Lucius insisted. ‘I love you, Hermione. Surely you know that by now? I wanted you for so long and then when I finally got you I couldn’t quite believe I was that lucky. There was no point in rushing things; you are so young and could quite easily change your mind at any moment, especially once you finish working on the library. I thought it better to wait and see how things progressed between us, but today I had some excellent news and it changed everything.’

‘What news?’ Hermione asked although she knew what he was going to say. It could only be one thing.

‘Narcissa’s lover, Barney Selwyn, has finally left his wife and she’s asked for a divorce. Obviously, I have no intention of standing in her way. I understand that Barney has already completed negotiations on his side and Narcissa is asking for very little from me as she is eager to get this finalised as soon as possible. The two of them intend to leave the country for a new life in Jersey in time for Christmas and would like the divorce concluded by then if at all possible. With Narcissa gone from here and with the marriage ended, leaving me free at last, there is absolutely no reason why we can’t get married . . . if you’ll have me, Hermione.’

Hermione nodded as he spoke, confirming what she already knew, and her heart gave a little flutter as he talked about marrying her.

‘What were you going to say?’ she asked.

Lucius looked confused. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You said, “That makes what I was going to say next a little bit tricky,”’ Hermione reminded him.

Lucius’ face broke out into a smile as relief coursed through him.

‘I was going to ask you to marry me — which I then duly did. But you’d just told me that you didn’t believe I would marry you; that’s what made it tricky, nothing else, I promise.’ He lifted her hand and kissed it, then looked at her hopefully. ‘So, you haven’t given me your answer yet—

‘Will you be my wife?’

Hermione stared back at him unblinkingly for long enough that Lucius’ heart dipped with disappointment again. Now, what was wrong?

‘What would happen if I said no?’ Hermione’s voice was quiet.

Lucius thought about the question, his heart racing. He had a feeling this was a test and he needed to pass it. What would happen? He had no idea as he had never even considered Hermione turning him down, which was stupid now he came to think about it.

But did it matter? He loved Hermione and would still love her whether they were married or not. They had already been living as if they were married for months so nothing had to change, did it?

Perhaps it would be for the best, would give Hermione a chance to realise he was serious and not just proposing because he thought it was what she wanted to hear. They could continue as they were for another year, maybe even two, and then he could ask her again, and he could keep asking every year until she finally said yes.

Lucius smiled and squeezed her hand. ‘Then we’ll continue as we are until you decide you’re ready to marry me . . . if you ever do.’

Hermione considered this for a couple of seconds.

‘And if I say yes?’

‘Then you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife, with everything that goes along with that state.’

‘Then yes. I will marry you, Lucius.’

Hermione could feel her heart pounding fit to burst as she said the words. A swirling feeling in her stomach made her feel giggly and nauseated at the same time. She could feel the tears that had been so close for so long finally break free and stream down her face even though she was smiling like a loon, a rush of pleasure like she had never known before bubbling up inside like fizzing champagne bubbles threatening to break free.

Lucius, looking ecstatic at her response, pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a fervour she had never experienced before, even with him. It took her breath away and she stared at him, panting, her eyes glistening — as were his, she suddenly realised.

‘We need champagne and sex,’ he announced happily as he clicked his fingers.

There was a pop and a house-elf appeared.

‘Can you bring us the 1985 Krug?’ he ordered.

The house-elf nodded, clearly understanding the request, and disappeared.

Lucius kissed Hermione several times as they waited for the elf to return with the bottle and glasses. Once they arrived, the bottle somehow already chilled to the perfect temperature and in a silver ice bucket that glistened with condensation, he finally released her and slid from the bed.

A few seconds later Lucius removed the foil and cage from the distinctive bottle, his strong fingers working the cork until it erupted with a satisfying pop. He admired the expensive straw-coloured wine as he poured it, clearly enjoying watching the fine bubbles as they rose to the surface. He sniffed the wine and closed his eyes, savouring the aroma of honey and hazelnuts mixed with brioche.

Lucius returned the bottle to the ice bucket and passed Hermione the glasses before climbing back into bed beside her. Once settled, he took a glass and the two of them clinked before twisting arms, each feeding the other the champagne in their glass. Realising this wasn’t as easy or romantic as they had thought, they went back to drinking from their own glasses.

‘This is lovely,’ Hermione said as she looked at her glass. Although solidly fruity, the champagne reminded her of lemon curd on toast with a dash of caramel.

‘It should be. It’s eighty Galleons a bottle,’ Lucius replied without batting an eyelid.

Hermione almost choked. ‘How much? Bloody hell. Eighty Galleons?’

Lucius looked amused. ‘We don’t normally drink wine that expensive, Hermione, but this is a special occasion that demands a special bottle of wine. It was, actually, the second best bottle currently in my cellar . . . that’s of drinkable age, anyway.’

‘Second best?’ Hermione tried to sound annoyed at not being considered good enough for Lucius’ best bottle but knew she was failing. She couldn’t be annoyed about anything at the moment.

Lucius nodded, then having watched Hermione take another mouthful he took the almost empty glass from her and placed them both on the cabinet next to his side of the bed. He pulled her close to him, his hands already caressing her body.

‘The best bottle is being saved for our wedding night,’ he told her softly. ‘Which is going to be absolutely perfect.’

‘And when will that be?’ Hermione asked. Her hands were moving as well.

‘That, my love, is entirely up to you,’ Lucius murmured as he kissed down her throat. ‘Your will is my command.’

Hermione was quiet for a moment, then, ‘We need to wait until the library is finished.’

Lucius stopped what he was doing and stared at her as if she was mad. ‘But that’s ages away, isn’t it?’

‘It is, but if we get married before it’s finished it’ll never get done, not if we’re having a dozen children.’ She grinned at him.

‘We could always employ someone else to finish it,’ Lucius suggested.

Hermione stiffened, the anger she had been convinced she couldn’t feel welling up like a hot stream of lava. ‘That’s _my_ library . . . _my_ plan . . . _my_ work and no one else is going to come in and take over.’

‘You’re right, of course, I wasn’t thinking,’ Lucius replied soothingly, his fingers gently caressing to calm her once more. ‘You need to finish it yourself, I understand. I was just eager to make you my wife and show your friends that they were wrong about me.’

‘You’ll have fifty-odd years to do that,’ Hermione said. ‘I just hope you haven’t gone senile by then otherwise I shall have to take a young lover. Maybe Draco—’

‘Stop,’ Lucius growled.

He pushed Hermione down beneath him and climbed on top of her. He bent to kiss her lips as Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck.

‘I love you, Lucius.’

Lucius kissed her nose. ‘And I love you, and intend to show you just how much as soon as you let go of me.’

‘Mmmm.’ Hermione released him, sighing happily as he kissed his way down her body.

Lucius’ tongue darted out, leaving wet trails of saliva over her stiff nipples as it passed. He was torn between wanting to play with her beautiful breasts and moving on to more exciting terrain. He paused briefly, hearing Hermione’s breathing become shallower, and then he moved down, over her stomach, tracing around her belly button, making her squirm and giggle, before venturing lower, through the neatly trimmed brown hair to connect with her clitoris.

Hermione gasped as he teased her with his tongue, his fingers now sliding inside her, savouring, as always, the feeling of her tightness wrapped around those lucky digits. He could feel his cock, hard and throbbing ever since the moment Hermione had said yes to becoming his wife, and knew he couldn’t wait for long; he needed to be inside her, to join and be one with her as he had so many times before.

His tongue replaced his fingers as he forced himself to wait. Stimulating Hermione with his mouth would pay huge dividends for them both later and he wanted everything to be perfect this time. Hermione was whispering his name, her low voice begging him to fuck her, her hands pulling at him, trying to move his face away. She was close and Lucius knew that if he continued she would cum, but the desire driving her was every bit as strong within him and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

They both cried out as he entered her, seemingly more forceful and possessive than he had ever been before although she was eager to accept him, her body wrapping sinuously around his as they moved together. Their mouths met several times, words of love and desire spilling from their lips as they joined and parted, the fire slowly building to engulf both of them in its flames.

Lucius quickened as he felt the subtle tug that told him he was close to cumming. He grabbed Hermione’s legs and pulled them over his shoulders, causing her to cry out as he slid even deeper inside her. Rapid staccato breaths escaped his lips in time with his thrusts, short and sharp, prodding Hermione into her own climax. Her face and chest turned a subtle shade of pink as she threw her head back and cried out loudly as Lucius grunted his way to an orgasm.

Hermione lay on her back with her eyes closed and a beatific smile on her face, breathing deeply through her nose and trying to calm down once Lucius released her. He leant over to pick up his champagne glass, tipping it slightly so the still-cool liquid fell onto Hermione’s breast with a small fizzing noise as the bubbles erupted on contact. She flinched a little then sighed with pleasure as his mouth captured as much of her breast as he could and licked the precious liquid from it. A moment later he repeated the movement with the other breast, using the last of his champagne.

‘Is there any more?’ Hermione asked.

Lucius released her and sat up, not waiting as Hermione did the same. He left the bed, scooped up the glasses and took them over to the table where the bottle rested.

Hermione watched him appreciatively, enjoying how toned his tautly muscled body was. His bottom was amazingly sexy; she was definitely going to paint him naked one day in the near future. A flush of desire ran through her, followed by pleasure at the thought that this gorgeous man was going to be her husband. It was certainly an amazing incentive to get her to finish her work on the library, although Lucius had always been her biggest distraction where that was concerned.

He had obviously realised that as well.

‘Are you sure you want to wait until the library’s finished?’ he asked seductively as he joined her on the bed and passed her a glass.

Hermione nodded, looking determined. ‘Yes. I told you I do. Getting it finished will signal the end of a chapter of my life — both our lives. Our wedding will be the start of a new one, an even more exciting one.’

‘But it’s going to take forever at this rate,’ Lucius retorted a touch petulantly.

‘Then you need to stop interrupting me all the time and let me get on with it,’ Hermione told him.

‘I can’t help finding you incredibly attractive, and I enjoy making love to you in the afternoon.’

‘And the morning and the evening, and almost every time we’re alone together,’ Hermione pointed out.

‘I’ve got a strong libido,’ Lucius said with a wicked grin.

‘Well, you’ll have to rein it in for a couple of months. Go riding or something.’

Lucius groaned. ‘That’ll make it worse.’

Hermione shook her head although she was chuckling. ‘I hear cold showers are very good.’

Lucius stared at her with such a hangdog expression that she had to take a mouthful of her champagne before she laughed out loud.

‘You could always help me,’ she suggested.

‘Help you with what?’ Lucius asked.

‘Well, I’ve only got one more bookcase to finish listing, then we can make a start on the cataloguing and rehoming of the books. It’ll be quite physical work so it should hopefully take your mind off anything more sexual. The house-elves will be helping me but it would be really good if you would lend a hand as well. It’ll give you something to do; Narcissa said you’d been bored since . . . well, you know.’

Lucius pondered Hermione’s request as he drank his champagne. It was true that he had been at something of a loose end without a megalomaniac to run around after but he wasn’t at all sure he was cut out for hard work, especially something physical — and working with the house-elves; that would never work. They would never respect him if they considered themselves his equals.

But on the other hand, Hermione was clearly serious about getting the library completed before she would consider getting married and if he didn’t give her some assistance it could drag on for months. Additionally, showing willingness would gain him points and he was certain he would still be able to fit in a certain amount of seduction — not as much as previously, granted, but then it would all be for a good cause.

Maybe, too, if he worked on the library it would convince Molly Weasley that he was serious about Hermione; that the fears she had about his ill-treatment were never going to come to pass. She wouldn’t know about the wedding, Lucius suspected that Hermione wouldn’t want it announced until the library was complete — until she was certain it was going to happen — but it was a start.

‘When do we begin?’ he asked.


	12. Twelve

Hermione smiled as she looked at the room beyond the door, the one that had a large green ribbon across the entrance. It had been bloody hard work and had taken almost fifteen months from start to finish, but with Lucius’ and the house-elves’ help at the end, she had finally got the entire library catalogued, numbered and filed in recognisable sections. In the centre of the room stood several large wooden boxes containing the card index that held the name and library number of every book the Malfoy family now owned.

It had been tiring, frustrating at times, and had even caused her physical pain with the sore throats and itchy eyes from spending too long around dusty old parchments, but it had been worth it to see the finished library with its precious books looking so spick and span, not a mote of dust anywhere in the room thanks to her small army of helpers.

There had been a brief moment of crisis when Lucius first joined her in the library as this caused the house-elves to stop work, ready to Apparate back to the safety of the kitchen. It had taken quite a while to explain that he would be working with them, a concept they seemed unable to grasp although Hermione wasn’t surprised knowing the way they had been treated in the past.

However, Lucius had made an excellent job of talking them round and Hermione was sure that he had gained a new understanding of the creatures, one that made him a fairer master than previously, which she hoped would make a difference the next time he offered them wages and holidays.

It had taken the best part of three months just to move the books to their new homes, Hermione directing and cataloguing, Lucius numbering and stacking, and the house-elves retrieving and then rehoming the books in their new locations — all except the final shelf: Hermione had completed that one on her own.

Now, here they were ready to unveil the library to friends and family, and Hermione found she was actually quite nervous. She was certain that Madam Pince would think she had done a good job but wasn’t sure what anyone else would think. Were they going to decide she had wasted her time when she could have been working elsewhere, or would they see it for the huge achievement she considered it?

Lucius, who was immaculately dressed as always, stepped towards the door and stood in front of it, turning to face the small group of people gathered in the hall.

He cleared his throat and began, ‘Last February I invited Hermione to come to Malfoy Manor to sort out my library, her name having been suggested by my son, Draco, who recalled her fondness for the library at Hogwarts.’

Lucius indicated Draco briefly and Madam Pince beamed at his words about her library. The thin, dark-haired girl standing next to Draco smiled at the mention of his name and stroked his arm. He gazed at her adoringly and Hermione found herself smiling.   

After a pause, Lucius continued, ‘It was not the bright and cheery room you can just about see through the door. Although light thanks to the large windows, the place was in complete turmoil — books were piled everywhere, all hotchpotch, with no thought as to type or author or subject. Successive generations of Malfoys had been dumping books in here since the fifteenth century and we never bothered to try to keep track of them, except for one vain attempt by Narcissa, who soon had to admit defeat despite an admirable attempt.’

Lucius smiled at his ex-wife who gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Narcissa was standing with her arm through that of a tall but somewhat chunky man with a round, extremely smiley face. He wore glasses and had a receding hairline, and Hermione decided that she was probably going to like Barney very much once she got to talk to him properly. She also now understood why Narcissa had never been in love with Lucius.

‘Do not underestimate the difficulty of the task Hermione had to undertake,’ Lucius said, looking around at his captivated audience. ‘It was bloody hard work for all of us but particularly for her. The house-elves and I did an extreme amount of physical labour over the past three months to put everything in its place but Hermione, wonder that she is, worked tirelessly on this project for well over a year before that without complaining or giving up, although I’m sure she wanted to many times, especially after coming across multiple copies of the various editions of the _Standard Book of Spells_.’ He smiled at Hermione as the audience laughed. ‘We honestly couldn’t have got anyone better. She’s done a marvellous job.’

Hermione felt herself blush as Lucius led the applause and she looked around at the beaming faces of her friends and family, all of them looking as proud as Lucius. She raised her hand in a brief wave before sinking back, trying to duck out of the limelight, but Lucius grabbed her hand and pulled her to join him.

‘Perhaps you want to say a few words?’ he suggested quietly.

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she tried to decide what to say.

‘Erm, I’d like to thank you all for coming today. I know it’s not the most important thing in the world but it means a lot to me. As Lucius said, it was hard work but it was extremely fulfilling work, too. It’s given me the opportunity to come into contact with rare works that I would never have had access to otherwise and it’s been a real honour to work with such a collection.

‘I would like to thank Draco for suggesting me in the first place, and Narcissa and Lucius for seeing the potential and giving me the chance to prove myself. I also want to thank Lucius for his help with the physical movement of the library. You did a really fantastic job and I know it was extremely demanding. Lastly, I want to thank the house-elves as Lucius and I would still be working for another year without their help.’

She smiled self-consciously as another round of applause broke out.

‘Madam Pince, we would be honoured if you would open our library for us,’ Hermione suggested, indicating the ribbon.

The old librarian looked almost overwhelmed at the request but she came forward and using her wand, cut the ribbon in two as a third bout of applause broke out. Hermione gestured for her to go into the library, following close behind as Lucius stood by the door ushering everyone else inside.

‘It looks amazing in here. You’ve done a wonderful job,’ Draco told Hermione as he and Astoria joined her where she was standing in the middle of the room looking around proudly.

To Astoria, he said, ‘You wouldn’t believe the state this place was in when Hermione first came here. Father was right that none of us had ever bothered to do anything but dump books in here, wherever we could find a place for them. The house-elves didn’t even really bother dusting, other than giving it a cursory once-over every so often, but look at it now — it would be a wonderful place to spend a few relaxing hours.’

Hermione chuckled. ‘It was clear that no one had ever bothered to catalogue or even keep track of it before. It’s astonishing how many duplicates or even more were scattered around the room, particularly of Hogwarts school textbooks. There were almost enough copies of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ alone to supply a whole group of Slytherin first years, so I assume that book’s been on the curriculum for an extremely long time.’ She indicated the boxes. ‘Each book has its own identifying number, and a copy of the details are kept in here in alphabetical order. If you know the rough name of the book you can look it up in here to see where it’s stored, assuming you don’t just want to browse the relevant section and see what other wonders are contained within it.’

She indicated various areas of the library, explaining which sections were to be found where, then left the couple and wandered over to Madam Pince, who was examining the room with delight.

‘Such treasures,’ she said, her voice full of wonder and her eyes glistening with tears.

‘I am very lucky to work here,’ Hermione admitted, unable to keep the joyous smile from her face. ‘We would be pleased to have you come and visit any time you want and, of course, if there’s anything you want to borrow you only have to ask.’

‘Thank you so much, Miss Granger,’ Madam Pince replied, seeming suddenly overwhelmed again.

‘I’ll leave you to keep looking around for a little while longer,’ Hermione told her. ‘We’ll be having tea in the glasshouse shortly and I need to go and sort that out; if you’ll excuse me.’

She smiled at Narcissa and Barney as she passed them, making her way towards Molly and Arthur Weasley who were both clearly impressed with the library.

‘Thank you both for coming. I wasn’t sure whether you would or not,’ she said, trying to break the ice.

Hermione had not spoken to either of them since she had left the Burrow under a cloud and hadn’t been sure they would accept her invitation. She was pleased they had decided to attend, although slightly worried that Molly would still be feeling exactly the same as she had before.

‘You’ve certainly achieved something here, Hermione,’ Arthur said, sounding proud. ‘I’m not surprised you wanted to work here; the size of this place is quite astounding.’

Hermione wasn’t sure whether he meant the library or Malfoy Manor itself.

Molly took hold of her hand, looking slightly abashed. ‘Hermione, I’m sorry about what I said to you back at the Burrow. I was out of order and should never have upset you like that. You’re quite right that it’s your life and you should live it how you want. I can now see what you meant about the library being an ideal job.’ She licked her lips nervously. ‘I was surprised by your revelation and said things I shouldn’t have. Can you forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive, Mrs Weasley,’ Hermione said with a smile as she squeezed Molly’s hand, realising as she said it that she was being honest.

Despite everything, Molly and Arthur were like family to her, and here, now, surrounded by them and the rest of her friends, enjoying her greatest achievement to date, she knew she didn’t need an apology. They would accept her and Lucius as a couple or they wouldn’t, but she no longer cared what anyone thought.

Lucius was right in that how they acted now and in the future would determine how they were treated, and she had never been more certain of his love than right at that moment. She could feel it, radiating out from him in waves as he talked to the other guests, telling them in more depth of the work she had undertaken.

‘Once everyone’s finished having a look round in here we’ll be heading to the glasshouse for tea. It might be a bit of a squeeze with fourteen of us, but it’s a beautiful place and Narcissa has managed to instil the love of afternoon tea in there in me,’ she told the Weasleys.

Taking her leave, she walked over to join Lucius who was now explaining exuberantly to Harry, Ron and Ginny about the work he had done on rearranging the library, playing up the physicality of the role. He smiled as she joined them.

‘I’m just going to go and see to the tea as I need a few minutes to recover,’ she told him quietly, her hand briefly brushing his arm. ‘Can you bring everyone to the glasshouse in about fifteen minutes? Everything should be ready by then.’

‘Of course,’ he agreed good-naturedly.

‘I’ll see you soon,’ she told her friends, and she hurried away, needing a few minutes to herself both to get over the excitement of the finally open library and to prepare herself for questions about her and Lucius.

Hermione knew her friends were dying to talk to her — and not about the library, either, she suspected. She had seen their eyebrows raise as she discussed tea with Lucius, in her role as lady of the manor, but she wasn’t sure whether Molly had told everyone about her and Lucius or whether she had kept it quiet, hoping Hermione would eventually come to her senses, as she would see it.

In the peace of the glasshouse, she looked around her. It was just about big enough for all of them, although if they all sat down it would be something of a squash. She clicked her fingers and smiled as a house-elf appeared, looking eager to do her bidding. She knew they were no longer afraid of her and her strange ideas regarding their employment, but then she had come to appreciate them differently, too.

‘Ah, Jorry. Can you have the tea ready for half past three?’ she told the elf. ‘Two pots — afternoon blend and Darjeeling, please. I’d also like you to prepare a pot of hot chocolate in case anyone doesn’t want tea — I know Ron isn’t keen. As the weather’s foul out there we’ll go for hot buttered crumpets instead of sandwiches. If you could bring in the first couple of dozen with the tea and then we’ll have another dozen about five minutes later. The usual preserves, of course, but I’d also like Marmite to go with them . . . oh, and honey, too. You can bring that in a separate container as people might want that in their tea instead of sugar.’

The elf nodded to show that it had understood.

‘What cakes and pastries have we got?’

‘Mini rhubarb and apple crumbles and sweet chestnut mousse filo parcels with crème Anglais . . . and hazelnut and maple syrup cheesecake,’ the elf replied, frowning slightly as it tried to remember what had been made. It stared worriedly at Hermione as if she might be unhappy with the choices, then relaxed as she smiled again.

‘That sounds wonderful,’ she told it.

‘Is Mistress all right?’ the house-elf asked anxiously. It felt compelled to talk, almost certain that it wasn’t going to get into trouble with this mistress. ‘You is here on your own, not in the library with your friends and the Master.’

Hermione sat down in one of the chairs. ‘I’m fine, Jorry, thank you. I just need a few minutes on my own before everyone descends for tea.’ Conspiratorially, she added, ‘I’m not sure what Narcissa is going to think about the changes I’ve made. Hopefully, she won’t be too disappointed.’

The house-elf left and Hermione sat back in the chair, resting her head on the cushion, her eyes closed as she calmed her breathing. So far everything was going perfectly. She just hoped her friends were in a reasonable mood because once she had talked to them she then had to tackle her parents.

Hermione knew her mum and dad were pretty jittery about being there; the wizarding world still overwhelmed them even after all these years. Lucius had reworked the repelling charms on Malfoy Manor to ensure they were able to enter the grounds without a problem and had worked hard to make them feel welcome. But although they had been effusive in their praise about the house and its gardens she knew they were feeling uncomfortable.

Fortunately, they already knew her friends and Molly and Arthur very well, which calmed them somewhat, and they seemed to have forgotten — or maybe not realised — that Lucius and Draco had been the ones to cause all the trouble in Flourish and Blotts the year Gilderoy Lockhart joined Hogwarts, which Hermione was extremely pleased about as she had enough to explain without that being brought up.

Hermione remembered how despicable Lucius had been that day, happily causing an argument with Arthur in order to give Ginny a diary that had belonged to Voldemort — an attempt to ruin Arthur’s Muggle Protection Bill. The bloody thing had ended up possessing Ginny, causing her to open Salazar Slytherin’s secret hiding place, the Chamber of Secrets, which had contained a Basilisk. It had nearly killed Hermione and several other students, including Ginny who had almost had her life sucked out of her by one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and Harry who had entered the Chamber to save her.

At that time Lucius and Draco would have been glad to see her and her friend’s dead and would have felt no guilt about it whatsoever. Hermione knew that if such a thing happened now they would both be absolutely mortified and would do everything in their power to stop it. Surely that was a sign of how much the family had changed, wasn’t it?     

As far as Hermione was aware Molly hadn’t mentioned anything to her parents about her and Lucius, and from her, they knew only what she had told them in her relatively regular letters, which admittedly had talked at considerable length about the library and its books and very little else. She now realised she hadn’t even mentioned the house or gardens to them all that much — she really had been obsessed with that library.

It was only a few minutes later when Lucius led the guests into the glasshouse. Hermione couldn’t help smiling as she remembered the first time he had led her there, with Narcissa sitting so elegantly, waiting for their arrival. Now she was the one taking on that role, although with considerably less aplomb than the ex-Mrs Malfoy.

She rose from her seat as the others entered and invited everyone to sit down. It was a bit of a squash but no one seemed to care, particularly when Lucius, having excused himself for a couple of minutes, reappeared with a few bottles of champagne and proposed a toast to the library.

Hermione’s heart sped up slightly as she worried for a moment that he was going to mention something about their wedding when she hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with her parents or friends first. But fortunately, although he was in a buoyant mood, he was content to let the day be ruled by Hermione’s work achievements rather than anything else.

She was pleased when Narcissa was complimentary about her twist on the afternoon tea ritual.

‘The crumpets are an inspired choice on a day like today. I’ve no idea why I never thought of it,’ Narcissa said.

‘Your teas were always so perfect, though,’ Hermione pointed out. ‘Do you still have them in Jersey?’

‘Not quite as much as over here,’ Narcissa admitted. ‘We’ve been busy restoring the house and building a conservatory similar to the glasshouse. I do miss my plants, particularly the orchids. Barney’s been so sweet about arranging it all.’ She smiled at her lover, who gazed dotingly back at her.

More quietly, and with a grin, Narcissa continued, ‘So tell me, Hermione, what happened to the erotica? I didn’t notice that section in your new library.’

Hermione chuckled. ‘It’s up in the minstrel’s gallery. I’ve always enjoyed relaxing up there and it seems Lucius does, too, so it seemed the perfect place for it.’

‘I’m surprised there was enough room,’ Narcissa quipped. She turned to Barney and explained, ‘Lucius’ ancestors were extremely interested in erotic works, both fiction and factual. They also collected a considerable number of interesting illustrations and paintings. They really are most educational . . . wouldn’t you say, Hermione?’

‘I’ve certainly found them to be so,’ Hermione admitted, although she could feel herself blushing as she said it.

Barney gave a bluff laugh. ‘Viewing by special appointment only, eh?’

‘You’re perfectly welcome to go and see them, Barney. Narcissa can show you the way,’ Hermione assured him with a wicked smile.

‘Perhaps later,’ Narcissa replied smoothly before Barney had a chance to answer. ‘We’re here for a couple of days so I’m sure we can fit it in once everyone else has gone.’

‘I’m glad you’re staying,’ Hermione told them sincerely. ‘I’m looking forward to getting to know Barney better, and it’ll be good for us to have a catch-up — with a proper afternoon tea.’

‘I look forward to it,’ Narcissa replied. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, Hermione, I am going to go and talk to Draco.’

‘Of course.’ Hermione smiled. ‘Astoria is a lovely girl, isn’t she? They’ve been here a few times now and it’s been a pleasure seeing them together. It’s clear they’re both smitten with each other, too. Good choices made all round, I think.’

‘Yes, we like her as well. They came to stay with us over Christmas and we had a delightful time. I’m hopeful that they might announce their engagement shortly.’ Narcissa studied Hermione for a moment, then asked, ‘Talking of engagements, what’s happening with you and Lucius? I haven’t seen anything announced or heard any gossip about a wedding.’

Hermione shrugged. ‘He did ask me once the two of you had agreed on your divorce but I told him I wanted to get the library completed first. He was talking about having children, lots of them, and I had visions of the place never getting finished. So what about you two?’

‘We’re waiting until the restoration work is finished on the house,’ Barney said. ‘We want to hold the wedding there but it’s like a building site at the moment, so not the most picturesque venue. I reckon it’s going to take another two or three months to get the major work out of the way and another good month for redecorating — there will be a huge amount of painting to do. That’ll take us into the summer and the garden will still need replanting, so I think we’re looking at getting married sometime in September, aren’t we, love?’

Narcissa nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve pencilled in the third weekend in September as a possibility, so make sure to keep that weekend free, Hermione. Of course, you’re welcome to come over earlier if you and Lucius want to make a holiday of it. Jersey is quite beautiful at that time of the year, and for a small island, there’s plenty to see and do, especially as you like walking. And of course, there is always Guernsey and the other islands to explore, too. So now the library has been completed, when are you two going to tie the knot?’

‘I don’t know,’ Hermione admitted. ‘Harry’s getting married in July and now you’re getting married in September. I have to admit I wouldn’t mind a quiet wedding, something really low key with just a few people — the people here today and maybe one or two others would fit the bill nicely.’

Narcissa laughed. ‘I don’t think you’ll get away with that with Lucius. You know he always likes the biggest and the best. I’m sure he’ll want something showy and flamboyant.’

‘Yes, that’s what worries me,’ Hermione said quietly.

‘What’s your engagement ring like?’ Narcissa asked interestedly.

At her words, Hermione looked down at the older woman’s hand, spotting the discreet solitaire diamond ring. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious. Lucius hadn’t given her a ring. Immediately she began to wonder whether maybe he hadn’t been as serious as she had thought. Perhaps she had been right and he had only asked her because she was upset.

‘I haven’t got one,’ she admitted quietly.

Narcissa looked surprised. ‘Really? That does surprise me. I know you’re not getting married for a while but I would have thought Lucius would want to show you off.’

‘I think he’s kept it quiet because I asked him to. We’ll probably talk about it over the next few weeks or so. I haven’t even really talked to my friends or my parents about it yet.’

Narcissa glanced at Ron, Harry and Ginny, who were sitting at the table conversing with each other and clearly ignoring Lucius, Draco and Astoria. Hermione’s parents seemed deep in discussion with Madam Pince and Molly and Arthur and were also ignoring the Malfoy contingent. She gave Hermione an understanding look.

‘I imagine those are going to be a few difficult conversations.’

Hermione sighed. ‘Mrs Weasley knows that Lucius and I are together but she wasn’t very impressed at the idea and said some pretty nasty things at the time. I don’t know if she told the others or not. I suspect she was hoping I would change my mind about him. I’m fairly certain that my parents have no idea. I certainly haven’t mentioned anything to them in any of my letters although, to be fair, I’ve just realised that I haven’t mentioned anything much apart from the library. I’ve really had a one-track mind for the last year or so.

‘None of them know about us getting married. I was going to talk to Ron and Harry about it this afternoon, and I should tell my parents too, I suppose. They need to know and it’ll give them all a chance to get used to the idea, although after the argument I had with Mrs Weasley it feels like it might be a real battle to get them to accept us as a couple.’

‘Well, unless your friends are completely dim I’m sure they’ll already have got the hint about you two. You’ve slotted straight into being the mistress of Malfoy Manor,’ Narcissa said with a smile. ‘Your parents may be a different matter, though, especially if they haven’t yet picked up on the dynamic.’

‘Yes, I think Ginny may have picked up on that. There were a few raised eyebrows when I was discussing tea with Lucius earlier.’

The crowd around the table were moving now. Ron grabbed a final piece of cheesecake as Draco and Astoria stood up, leaving Lucius alone.

‘We’ll see you later, Hermione,’ Narcissa said as Barney gestured to her that her son was now free.

‘Yes. I’ll see you for drinks before dinner,’ Hermione replied with a smile, then she moved over to talk to her friends.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were all sitting up in the minstrel’s gallery. She had taken them up there wanting to be away from everyone else, and the weather was too inclement for them to leave the house. They were impressed with the secluded nook overlooking the library but hadn’t yet, to Hermione’s relief, spotted the collection of erotica housed there.

‘So what’s going on with you and Lucius Malfoy, then, Hermione?’ Ron’s tone was more than slightly belligerent as he asked the question.

Hermione looked taken aback at his aggressiveness. Ginny shot him a filthy look.

‘Do you remember how we weren’t going to be confrontational and stroppy, Ron? How we were going to give Hermione a chance to talk to us before we barked accusatory questions at her?’ she said.

Ron just scowled at her and then at Hermione.

Harry tried to break the chilly silence that had suddenly descended. ‘From the way you were acting earlier, bossing Lucius around, it was like you’re the lady of the manor or something.’ The laugh died in his throat as Hermione just stared at him and he glanced at Ginny, looking for help.

‘Who’s that man with Narcissa Malfoy?’ Ginny asked, thinking this might be a less combative way to get the conversation started.

‘He’s her fiancée, Barnabus Selwyn — Barney to his friends. They’re living over in Jersey,’ Hermione said, keeping her face blank.

She had intended to tell her friends about her relationship with Lucius but Ron’s pugnaciousness annoyed her and made her unwilling to open up, knowing that it would only cause more arguments.

‘She’s not living here?’ Ron asked, sounding surprised.

‘Correct. Neither is Draco before you ask,’ Hermione retorted.

‘So you and Lucius are living here alone?’ Ron challenged.

Hermione shrugged. ‘Correct again, unless you count the fifteen-odd house-elves that live here too.’

‘But—’

Ginny put her hand over her brother’s mouth to shut him up, understanding that this wasn’t going well.

‘How about you give Hermione a chance to explain?’ she suggested mildly.

‘How long have you and Lucius been together?’ Harry enquired, sounding far less confrontational and much more interested than Ron.

Hermione steepled her fingers, blowing on them as she debated what to say.

‘We’ve been a couple pretty much since I first moved to Malfoy Manor,’ she admitted.

She saw Ron rear up, Ginny still clamping her hand over his mouth so he couldn’t speak. Harry pulled him back down and shot him a warning look.

‘Although I did come here initially to catalogue the library, I also came to be nearer to Lucius. I know you’re surprised and you’re probably angry that I didn’t tell you before, and I apologise for that, but at the beginning, I wasn’t sure where things were going to go with our relationship so I didn’t want to say anything in case it fizzled out. There was no point in upsetting everyone for something that might be nothing. Once things became more serious between us I wanted to talk to you, but after your mum got so upset when I told her I didn’t really know how to explain it without you all reacting in the same way.’

‘That was why you left the Burrow so suddenly that day you came to lunch,’ Ginny said, remembering.

Hermione nodded. ‘Your mum gave me a huge lecture about how I should be finding myself a husband rather than working at Malfoy Manor. She seemed to think I was locking myself away because I was upset at breaking up with Ron.’

Ginny nodded and rolled her eyes sympathetically, clearly used to these sorts of discussions with her mother.

Ron, who had finally been released by Harry and Ginny, snorted loudly. ‘That’s why no one helps her with the washing up, Hermione. You don’t want to get caught alone with her. She’s a great one for lectures, our mum.’

‘Yes, well, obviously. She really upset me with some of the things she was saying because she wouldn’t listen to anything _I_ was saying. She honestly seems to believe that life begins and ends with getting married and having a family. She couldn’t understand that I just wanted to work on the library, however much I tried to explain it to her. In the end, I got so frustrated that I told her about Lucius — just to shut her up, really, but it only made her worse. She was extraordinarily horrible about him, kept going on about how he was going to hurt me—’

‘Yeah, well I wonder how she got that idea,’ Ron said snidely, cutting across Hermione.

Harry, who had been quiet until now, said, ‘He’s changed, though, hasn’t he? Lucius, I mean. I got that impression at the trial — that he wasn’t the evil Death Eater we had dealt with previously. He seemed softer, more apologetic; as if he really did regret what he had done for Voldemort. And today he’s been friendly and entertaining; amusing, even.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s all an act, isn’t it?’ Ron said darkly.

‘ _No_. It isn’t an act,’ Hermione shot back tersely. She was trying hard not to lose her temper with Ron. ‘I think rescuing me changed him somehow. He definitely wasn’t on Voldemort’s side at the end — none of the Malfoys were. I trusted him to help me escape, and I trusted that he had changed when I came here to work in his library. He and Narcissa had long since ended their relationship — it was only because Barney was still married that they had never divorced.

‘To be honest, it was sort of a lust thing at first, for both of us, I think. But once I’d been here a while we realised it had grown into something else. I know you don’t believe me, Ron — you’re just like your mum — but it’s true. Lucius and I love each other and we have a good relationship. He’s changed so much. All the Malfoys have, but Lucius especially.

‘The day I came to lunch, Barney told Narcissa that he had finally managed to agree on a divorce settlement with his wife. She told Lucius while I was at the Burrow. Your mum told me that Lucius would never do anything but give me pain, but when I got home that evening, visibly upset, he spent ages comforting me and trying to cheer me up.

‘He even tried to explain why your mum was so upset — he was so bloody understanding about it that it really irritated me. But then he told me that no one would believe he had changed unless they saw it for themselves, that telling them wasn’t enough. And that’s true. You’ve seen it today — I know you have, even if you don’t want to admit it.’

Harry and Ginny nodded their agreement. Ron still glowered but realised he was fighting a losing battle. Ginny decided to get in quickly before her brother could say anything more.

‘So what’s happening with you and Lucius if he and Narcissa are getting divorced?’

‘They’re already divorced. She and Barney wanted to get it over and done with before they moved and they wanted to be in Jersey by Christmas, so it’s all completed and sorted out. Lucius asked me to marry him the night I got back from the Burrow, once I’d calmed down enough.’

So you’re marrying him, then?’ Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. ‘I said I would, but not until the library cataloguing was finished.’ She smiled as Ron rolled his eyes at this comment. ‘Lucius told me that everyone would realise how much he loved me when we’d been married for fifty years and had a dozen kids. I thought if he was even partly serious I’d never get the renovation of the library completed if I married him straight away, so I insisted that we wait. That’s why he helped me with it — he wanted to get it finished as soon as possible.’

‘You haven’t got a ring, though,’ Ginny pointed out.

‘No, because I refused to even discuss it any further until the cataloguing was complete, and there was no way I wearing a bloody great ring while I was working with old and delicate books — because you just know that Lucius isn’t going to get me something small and subtle. Now the library is finished I’ll need to talk to him about it and arrange a date. It’s not really that important, though; we’ve been sharing a bedroom for the best part of a year, and now Narcissa’s gone I’m lady of the manor, as Harry said.’

‘You were sleeping together while Narcissa was still living here?’ Ron sounded astonished.

‘Yes. Remember me saying that their relationship was over long before I arrived? We didn’t make a big thing of it but Narcissa knew we were a couple. I think she even approved as it meant Lucius wasn’t going elsewhere and creating loads of rumours.’

‘When do you think you’ll be getting married?’ Harry asked, seeing Ron about to speak again and suspecting from previous questions that it would be something that would only annoy Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. You two are getting married in July, so that’s out, really. Narcissa and Barney are aiming for September. To be honest, I don’t really mind, I just want it to be a small, intimate wedding — nothing fussy. Unfortunately, I don’t think Lucius will let me get away with that, although I’m certainly going to push for it.’

‘How about Halloween?’ Ron asked, now apparently resigned to the fact that Hermione was going to marry Lucius, even though he didn’t like the idea much.

Hermione shook her head as she wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t think so, do you? There’s already an anniversary on that date—’

She glanced at Harry and gave him a weak smile.   

‘Yeah, a bit of a rubbish time for it. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking,’ Ron said ruefully.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll all be involved as soon as we’ve decided. I’ll have roles for all of you,’ Hermione promised them. To Ron, she added, ‘I’m going to need you to manage your mum for me. Please make her see that I’m not making a huge mistake.’

Gruffly, Ron said, ‘I’m not convinced myself yet.’

Hermione hugged him. ‘You will be. Now I’ve finished the library I shall have a lot more free time so you can come and stay and get to know Lucius better.’

‘What _are_ you going to do now the library is finished?’ Harry asked curiously.

‘I’m going to apply for a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures the next time one comes up. I was going to ask you to let me know when there’s a vacancy.’

Ron stared at her incredulously. ‘Do you need to work, Hermione? Lucius has got pots of money and has this big old house.’

‘It’s nothing to do with the money. I want to help house-elves,’ Hermione told him.

‘You’ve got house-elves here, haven’t you?’ Ginny asked.

Hermione nodded. ‘Yes, and we’re slowly working on them to get them to accept wages and holidays. It’s extremely slow going but I’m confident we’re getting there, especially after Lucius worked with them on the library.’

‘He wasn’t very nice to Dobby,’ Harry reminded her icily.

‘No, he wasn’t but Lucius really regrets how he treated him, Harry. He’s completely changed on that front, too,’ Hermione assured him. ‘Honestly, come with me to the kitchen and meet the elves. You’ll see that they absolutely adore Lucius.’

‘We could get something to eat while we’re there,’ Ron suggested hopefully.

‘Are you hungry?’ Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head. ‘I’m not — but you know the gannet never stops eating, given the chance.’

‘I expend a lot of energy,’ Ron responded, then grinned as they all stared at him.

‘A lot of gas, more like,’ Ginny retorted with her own wicked grin.

‘Come on, let’s go and find Ron some food and you can meet our house-elves,’ Hermione said, standing up.


	13. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I wanted to thank you all for making it to the end. I hope you have enjoyed the story. Happy New Year everyone! Dx

Hermione smiled nervously as she studied Ginny’s outfit to take her mind off her own for a few minutes. Her friend was looking beautiful in a velvet robe the colour of holly berries; the plant embroidered around the scoop neck and the bottom of the skirt in glistening gold thread. Her long fiery red hair was tamed and twisted into an elegant chignon and dotted with garnet-studded pins that held a sprig of the plant in place at the back.

Around her neck and in her ears brilliant yellow gold shone, more large garnets invisibly suspended at the ends. Over the dress, she wore a matching cloak with a buttonhole consisting of a large sprig of holly and white feathers above her right breast. The fur-trimmed hood was currently down, although it would be raised once the ceremony started.

‘You two are completely mad, you do know that, don’t you?’ Ginny told her as she put a slick of matching colour on her lips and admired herself in the mirror, batting her eyelids to see the effect of the shimmery pale eyeshadow she had put on them. 

‘Why’s that?’ Hermione asked.

Ginny snorted with laughter. ‘Only you and Lucius would decide to get married outside, during the coldest month of the year, in the middle of a bloody blizzard.’

‘It’s not a blizzard. It’s not even really snowing out there at the moment, and if it does it’ll only be a few flakes. It’ll look good,’ Hermione pointed out with a smile as she looked out the window at the thick snow that blanketed the entire garden, glistening in the weak winter sunlight. ‘I don’t know what you’re worried about, anyway. We’re only outside for the ceremony itself and then we’re all heading back into the house for the reception. The area is being heated so it shouldn’t be cold . . . and you’ve got that cloak.’

Ginny shook her head, looking fondly at her friend. ‘I have no idea how much all of this is costing.’

‘Lucius can afford it without even batting an eyelid,’ Hermione said blithely, remembering the eighty-Galleon bottle of wine that wasn’t even his best drinkable bottle. She still had no idea how much the one they would be sharing that evening, once they were finally alone, had cost him, but she wasn’t entirely sure she was worth it.

She looked critically at her own reflection in the mirror, trying to convince herself that it was just nerves that were making her think she looked awful. Now she was on the verge of her wedding she wasn’t convinced the colour of her dress didn’t make her look washed out and sallow.

‘Do you think I’ve made a mistake?’ she asked, suddenly worried. Ginny was right, getting married outdoors in December was a terrible idea. She had no idea why Lucius had agreed to it — had no idea why Lucius had asked her to marry him in the first place.

Ginny joined her and put her arms around her friend, understanding that nerves were getting the better of Hermione.

‘Of course not. I was only joking with you,’ she reassured her. ‘It’s going to be amazing — something people will talk about for months and remember for years. It’s a bold choice, just like your marriage to Lucius is a bold choice. I think we need a glass of champagne to calm us down a bit. I’ll go and see if I can find one, shall I?’

Hermione gripped her hand. ‘Please don’t go. My parents should be up in a minute and Dad promised he’d bring some. He’ll know how nervous I am; I’m good at putting up a confident front, that’s all. I just wish I didn’t feel so sick.’

‘That’s just nerves,’ Ginny said. ‘I was sick twice before my wedding, remember, so you’re doing much better than me. I couldn’t hold a glass or anything because I was shaking so much.’

Hermione smoothed down her robe, the diamante-covered ice-white velvet glittering as she did so, and took a deep breath, trying to quell the nausea.

‘I think I’ve made a real mistake with this robe. The colour isn’t right at all. It doesn’t suit me. It makes me look washed out and old. Maybe I should find something else to wear—’

Ginny snorted. ‘Calm down! The dress is perfect, Hermione. It looks lovely on you; absolutely stunning, even. You just look a bit pale because you’re nervous. Here.’ Ginny picked up a brush and dabbed a little colour onto Hermione’s cheeks, then added a slick of the lip colour she was wearing. She smiled. ‘See, that’s given you a bit more colour. You look dazzling, Hermione. Lucius is going to fall in love with you all over again when he sees you.’

There was a knock on the door. Ginny went to answer it, leaving Hermione still staring in the mirror. She had to admit the makeup helped a little but she still didn’t look like the perfect bride for handsome Lucius.

‘How’s my little Minnie Mouse?’ her dad asked, kissing her on the cheek as he hugged her. He smiled happily. ‘You look beautiful, love, really—’ His words failed him as he continued to smile at her, nodding appreciatively. He held up a bottle. ‘Got a little something for us. Have you got the glasses, love?’ he asked Hermione’s mother.

The woman opened her copious handbag and carefully pulled out four champagne flutes, which she put on the bedside cabinet as her husband opened the bottle. She hugged Hermione tightly, whispering in her ear about how resplendent she looked and how gorgeous the colour of her dress was.

‘I’m really nervous,’ Hermione admitted once they had all received their glasses of champagne. She was pleased to note that she could hold hers without spilling any as they made a toast. At least she wasn’t as bad as Ginny had been on her wedding day.

‘What made you decide to hold the wedding outside?’ her mother asked as they sat together on the bed. Ginny and Hermione’s father were talking quietly to one side.

Hermione looked at her, suddenly stricken. ‘Do you think I’ve made a mistake as well?’

‘I’ve already told you I was joking about that,’ Ginny reminded her as she rolled her eyes.

Her mother patted Hermione’s hand soothingly. ‘Of course not, love. That’s not what I meant at all. I think it’s a really lovely idea, very unusual. I just wondered what inspired it, that’s all.’

Hermione realised that her mother was trying to get her to talk to take her mind off the upcoming ceremony, trying her hardest to calm her down. Hermione took a sip of her champagne and smiled gratefully at her.

‘The lake and its magnificent fountain were one of the first things I saw when I came here to talk to Lucius about the job in the library. It was part of an original design by Capability Brown, along with the rose garden, and I fell in love with it instantly. I’ve always spent a lot of my free time out there, enjoying the sound of the water, and I just knew it would be the perfect place to get married.

‘I know to most people summer would probably seem like a better time to do it, but I love the winter: the clean, crisp white snow and the dark green of the holly, the deep red of the berries, the creamy mistletoe. It gave me the perfect colour scheme for the wedding.

‘You know I only wanted a small wedding, something quiet and relaxed, but Lucius wanted something bigger, wanted everyone to see us get married and he wasn’t backing down on that, however hard I tried to talk him round. That’s when I realised that it needn’t just be the colour scheme. Winter could be the time for the wedding, too.

‘It was a bit cheeky of me, but I knew Lucius always holds a party between Christmas and New Year to which he invites the world and his wife. I decided that if he really wanted a big wedding I would hijack the party — kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. He wasn’t completely sold on the idea initially, but once I pointed out that it was either that or an intimate wedding at the Register Office he soon warmed to it, especially when I mentioned my idea of holding it in front of the fountain.

‘It was an unusual idea for the time of year and it appealed to him and gave him a challenge to achieve. So here we are now, on New Years’ Eve, and hopefully, it’s all come together perfectly. Either that or you’re all going to freeze to death.’

‘We’ve already been down to the lake and spoken to Lucius, haven’t we, love?’ Hermione’s father said. Her mother nodded in agreement. ‘It’s lovely and warm down there. He’s done a marvellous job of getting the place set up.’

‘I’m looking forward to seeing it,’ Ginny admitted. ‘I’ve been here with Hermione all day so haven’t seen any of the preparations, although I’ve seen Harry and Ron out of the window with piles of holly, moving about the place. I saw George with a load of mistletoe, too,’ she warned Hermione.

‘What’s the time?’ Hermione asked, a nervous roiling in her stomach again.

‘Twenty to three,’ her father said, looking at his watch. ‘You’ve got another five minutes.’

‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ Hermione wailed.

‘No, you’re not,’ her mother said soothingly as Ginny smiled at her sympathetically, understanding completely how Hermione was feeling. ‘It’s time to check that you’ve got everything and that you’re ready to go.’ She looked at Ginny. ‘Ginny?’

‘I’m ready,’ Ginny confirmed. ‘I’ve got everything, my makeup’s done, my cloak is on and my flowers are over there. I’m just waiting for Hermione.’

Hermione got up from the bed and looked in the mirror again. ‘My hair’s a mess,’ she said disconsolately. ‘I mean, it’s always a mess but today—’

‘There’s nothing wrong with it,’ Hermione’s mother assured her as she came up behind her and looked at her in the mirror. She touched the carefully styled hair, moving the small flowers and the string of diamante woven through it a little, not because it needed doing but because she knew it would calm Hermione.

‘I haven’t put my jewellery on,’ Hermione said as she suddenly realised, her voice high and squeaky with panic. ‘Can you help me, Mum?’

She knew her hands were too shaky this close to the wedding to be able to fiddle with the delicate clasp of the pieces she had chosen — the match to Ginny’s set but in diamond and platinum.

‘Calm down, of course I will.’ Her mother’s voice was gentle and soothing as she put the necklace around Hermione’s throat and fastened it and Ginny placed the earrings in her ears. ‘There, it’s done. You look sublime.’ She gave Hermione a hug and a final kiss. ‘I’ll see you downstairs shortly.’

Hermione smiled at herself in the mirror as her mother and Ginny dropped back and her father came to place the white fur-edged, diamante-covered velvet cloak over her shoulders. He kissed her cheek.

‘Lucius is a lucky man,’ he told her quietly, and he drew the hood up to cover her hair as Hermione fastened the cloak.

‘I’m scared, Dad,’ she told him honestly.

‘What of? There’s nothing to be scared about.’

‘What if Lucius has changed his mind?’ Hermione whispered.

Her father chuckled quietly. ‘He’s down there wondering the same thing about you, you know. He’s not going to change his mind. You’re not going to change your mind. We’re going to go down there and you and Lucius are going to get married — and a very good-looking couple you’ll make, too!’

He checked himself in the mirror, straightening the holly and feather buttonhole that he wore on his dark grey suit.

Ginny came forward holding Hermione’s bouquet as well as her own. She now had her own hood up, ready to leave. Hermione took the bouquet from her, smiling as she inspected the intricate mix of the dark holly with its blood-red berries and snow-white hellebore intertwined with green ivy, a few white feathers, and another glistening strand of diamante. The impressive bundle was tied together with a large bow the same colour as Ginny’s dress.

Ginny gripped her arm and gave it a squeeze. ‘Are you ready?’ she asked excitedly.

Hermione took a deep breath, pushed down the nausea, plastered a smile on her face, and nodded determinedly.

‘I’m ready,’ she announced.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

The rarely used ballroom was lit with hundreds of candles, glinting off the mirrors that lined the whole of one wall and creating the effect of a room twice the size, glittering with stars. The entire room was decorated with large swags of ice white and deep red silk, and holly, ivy and hellebore floral displays were everywhere in the house, increasing the wintery feeling throughout.

Hermione rested her head on Lucius’ shoulder as they danced.

‘I really do love you, you know,’ she told him contentedly.

‘And I love you, too, Hermione. Today was absolutely unbelievable, better than I could ever have hoped for. You were incredible, so beautiful . . . and that outfit—’

‘Paid for with your money,’ Hermione pointed out. ‘Today has cost an absolute fortune, although I will admit it has way exceeded every expectation I had about how it would be. Thank you so much for providing me with such a magnificent wedding.’

‘You deserve it, my love,’ Lucius said with a smile before he kissed her. ‘You’ve just agreed to put up with me for the next million years; so giving you a decent celebration was the least I could do.’

Sounding wistful, Hermione said, ‘Only a million? I was hoping for at least three times that many.’

‘Oh, I’m sure we can renew our vows before we get anywhere near close to that,’ Lucius promised. ‘Assuming you haven’t got fed up with me by that time.’

‘Never going to happen,’ Hermione assured him. ‘I told you, I will only leave here if you send me away.’

‘Well, that’s not happening either. I intend to keep you chained up here, churning out babies for the next thirty-odd years. I reckon we could have well over a dozen children if we have one every couple of years, more if we get twins. I know they run in the family although I think it’s been a couple of hundred years since the Malfoys last had them.’

Hermione chuckled. ‘I am not having a baby every two years, Lucius. In fact, I might not want to have one for a while. I’m going to go back to work at the Ministry of Magic and I won’t have time for children, not when I’ve got house-elves to save.’

‘Do you have to go back to work?’ Lucius sounded a touch petulant as he pulled her closer and squeezed her.

‘No, I don’t. But I’d like to if possible. Having said that, there isn’t a job there at the moment so it’s a bit of a moot point,’ Hermione pointed out.

Lucius chuckled lecherously. ‘Good. That’ll give me a chance to convince you that you don’t really want to go back to work.’

‘Good luck with that. It might work but I wouldn’t hold your breath,’ Hermione said.

They continued dancing for a while and spent several minutes kissing under some mistletoe that appeared in the vicinity.

‘Did you hear that Draco and Astoria have finally got engaged?’ Lucius asked, sounding pleased. ‘Apparently, he asked her on Christmas Day . . . and the stupid girl said yes.’

‘She’s going to make him a very good wife. They’re going to be as happy as we are,’ Hermione prophesied, then she chuckled. ‘She slapped him when he called me his wicked stepmother earlier on.’

‘Did he really call you that?’ Lucius asked with a grin.

Hermione nodded and sighed, then grinned, too. ‘He certainly did. Having said that, he also told me that stepmothers have to have illicit sex with their stepsons at every available opportunity. He got a much harder whack for that one, I can tell you.’

‘Where on earth did he get that idea?’ Lucius asked.

‘I think he’s spending too much time with his Muggle friends surfing porn on the internet. Apparently, that’s a big trend, stepmother and –son.’

‘Is it indeed? Well, I hope you’re not thinking of taking him up on his offer,’ Lucius said drily.

Hermione snorted. ‘After everything I did to try to keep away from him? Not very likely, is it?’

‘Ah, but you’re a married woman now and your tastes might have changed,’ Lucius pointed out.

‘Not that much. Anyway, I don’t think he’d want to risk Astoria finding out. I think she’d hex his balls off if she thought he was doing anything with anyone else.’

Lucius considered for a moment. ‘Yes, she can be quite stern with him, although I think it’s doing him the world of good, actually. He needs someone to take him firmly in hand.’

‘As do you,’ Hermione said smugly.

Lucius gave a small frown. ‘No, I don’t—’

‘Oh, I think you do.’

Hermione cut him off by brushing her hand surreptitiously over the front of his trousers. She stopped and squeezed gently, her eyes glittering wickedly.

Lucius coughed, his voice slightly hoarser when he next spoke. ‘You might be right. In fact, yes, I think you’re absolutely right, Hermione.’

‘This has been a lovely party, but I think I’m ready for bed now,’ Hermione said.

‘Oh gods, yes. Let’s go,’ Lucius told her keenly.

Hermione looked momentarily unsure. ‘You don’t think everyone will mind?’

‘Who cares? It’s our house, our wedding, our party. Everyone will just leave or go to bed when they’ve had enough — or when the alcohol runs out, whichever happens first. They don’t need us here and we’ve done all the toasts and stuff. It’s time for us to enjoy that champagne I’ve been saving.’

Lucius took her hand and led her across the dance floor and out of the ballroom. No one said anything to them, although a few people waved and smiled as they passed.

‘I’d forgotten about that,’ Hermione said disingenuously. ‘So how much was this bottle?’

‘Somewhere in the region of one hundred and fifty Galleons,’ Lucius replied uncaringly.

He smiled when he saw her shocked face. Hermione had stopped walking on the first step of the stairs to stare at him in complete astonishment.

He chuckled, then told her, ‘A small price to pay to spend the perfect evening with the most beautiful woman in the world. Champagne and sex — I honestly can’t think of anything better.’

‘Neither can I,’ Hermione admitted. ‘I’ve wanted to make love with you for hours. You look so sexy today.’

‘Maybe we should do a little detour via the minstrel’s gallery, then,’ Lucius suggested a wicked gleam in his eye.

Hermione shook her head. ‘There are far too many people around. Let’s go to bed.’

Lucius sighed heavily as if being put upon. ‘This is my house, you know, Hermione. I should be able to do what I want, where I want, whenever I want.’

‘And you can, as long as we’re alone in the house,’ Hermione told him soothingly. ‘But when we have a house full of guests we need to be a bit more dignified. Come on. You know you won’t be sorry.’

Lucius pouted and looked like he was going to refuse but Hermione knew he wouldn’t.

‘Time for bed!’ he announced, loudly enough for those in the vicinity to hear as he picked Hermione up, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her upstairs to the applause and catcalls of the guests as they realised what he was doing.

‘I’m going to kill you for this, Lucius,’ Hermione growled, her face scarlet with embarrassment.

‘No, you won’t,’ he replied with certainty. ‘You might try, but you won’t succeed. I shall win you over before that happens. You love me too much to kill me.’

Hermione sighed. ‘Sad but true, alas.’

‘Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it,’ Lucius told her, using his wand to open their bedroom door and carrying her inside before dropping her gently onto the bed. ‘I love you, Mrs Malfoy.’

Hermione smiled up at him, her arms reaching around his neck to pull him down to her.

‘I love you, too, Mr Malfoy.’


End file.
